


Fleeting Glory

by caleyedoscope



Category: Big Bang (Band), BoA (Musician), DBSK|Tohoshinki|TVXQ, Hangeng - Fandom, Jang Geunsuk, K-pop, SHINee, SMTown, SS501, So Nyuh Shi Dae | Girls' Generation, Super Junior, TRAX, f(x)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M, M/M, Science Fiction, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 21:34:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 78,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caleyedoscope/pseuds/caleyedoscope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>500 years ago, the moon erupted, spreading a substance across the solar system called MoonDust, which has properties that propel society into a highly technological future. But now Dust is disappearing fast, and if more isn’t found soon, the galaxy will black out. Kim Jaejoong is the key to getting enough Dust to survive and everyone wants him to fight on their side. However, he will not be so easily swayed, because he has a plan of his own…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> full list of characters [here](http://miari.dreamwidth.org/1514.html)

_“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” -Martin Luther King Jr._

\--

_Beep_

Something icy claws at his fingers and toes and he shudders, struggling to keep the sensation from spreading across his body, trying to keep himself warm. He fights to suck in a breath, his lungs burning as he finally gets his mouth and trachea to work in tandem. It feels like he’s being poked and prodded with millions of needles as blood starts to flow through his body.

Is he dead? Has he _been_ dead? More importantly, who is he? He has to think about that one for a minute before there is enough circulation in his brain to get the correct answer. _Kim Jaejoong. Pilot._ A good pilot. He thinks he has a few medals somewhere at home.

Home. Earth.

His scattered memories come back in little pieces. There had been a meteorite. Widespread panic. People had been sent to the colonies on the moon despite their instability. But then-

He feels the fear creep back, silent and deadly, choking him, and he remembers. Landing on the moon. Being shoved into a space station. The memory of the alarms is so vivid his ears starts to ring and his head pounds.

_Beep Beep_

The meteorite had changed course. Jaejoong remembers the confusion of being shoved into a ship and pumped full of drugs. _Cryo drugs_. He’d been frozen. Jaejoong doesn’t even know how long it’s been. It could be years or even centuries. _Everyone I know could be dead,_ he realizes, and he has to take a few deep breaths to get his emotions under control.

 _Relax. One thing at a time._ He concentrates, telling his eyes to open.

At first, he sees nothing, then the dark begins to fade, the world blurring in and out of focus, wandering points of light traveling across his vision as he tries not to panic. _It will take time_ , he tells himself, _You were frozen. Your body is warming up, you’ll be fine in a little while_.

He breathes slowly as the balls of light mesh together, his vision becoming clearer, until finally he can see everything: the capsule he’s lying in that’s becoming increasingly warmer and the cockpit of the craft that’s holding him. He recognizes the design to some extent—it has all the tell tale signs of his class C carrier, the useless things, and he curses to himself. Figures he’d be left with an essentially worthless ship.

_Beep Beep Beep_

Jaejoong pays attention to the beeping for the first time. It’s not a good sound, like the beep of a heart monitor. It’s steadily becoming more harsh, as if meant to jar a pilot or a crew member from sleep in the event of an emergency. He needs to stand up.

But he’s unsure of the lasting effects of cryo. Can he stand at all? Can he even move? He waits a little while longer until he’s sure blood is circulating through his body properly before trying to move his legs; a toe wiggles. _Fantastic_. He works at it, breathing hard through his nose, moving his toe, then his foot, then his ankles, and by the time he’s moving both his arms and legs, the beeping is a goddamn alarm.

It’s screeching at him, a sound he now recognizes as a warning for incoming ships and in a fit of panic, he manages to heave himself up into a sitting position. Blood rushes through his body and his vision swims as he grabs the edges of his cryo capsule, forcing himself to stay upright. _Focus_ , he tell his body, Fucking focus so you’re not blown to bits by whatever the hell is out there. Surprisingly, it seems to work, and the dizziness passes in a matter of moments. _Okay_ , he thinks, _Maybe this isn’t as bad as I think it’s going to be. Maybe I haven’t been in cryo for very long. This is a good sign!_

By sheer force of will, Jaejoong hauls himself out of the capsule. He takes of couple of shaky steps, gritting his teeth and imagining that he is literally holding himself up with some sort of invisible force; he can almost see it, if he really wants to, glowing around him. He tries not to think too hard about that and focuses on moving. Step step step stumble. Fall. He narrowly misses bashing his head open on the console, managing to grab onto the edge of the metal with the tips of his fingers and land on his knees.

Jaejoong _makes_ the pain disappear.

The chair is cold and hard as he sits down with a thud, breath exhaling harshly from his lungs. He clears his dizziness with a shake of his head and scrutinizes the control boards in front of him.

He blinks. The readouts are unrecognizable.

Statistics scroll past him, perhaps information on his position, the situation, or Jaejoong doesn’t even know what. He stares for a minute, trying to think beyond the alarms and blinking lights before making a decision and slamming his palm down on the button that would open up the viewer. If the data isn’t going to tell him anything, then his eyes will. Maybe.

At first, all he sees is white. A large, glowing mass of white that, if he concentrates, he can _feel_.  He hasn’t tried talking yet, but he thinks this is a good a time as any and the word that comes out of his mouth is surprisingly clear.

“Shit.”

Okay, so he’s in the middle of an unknown substance at an unknown time with an unknown threat fast approaching or already upon him, it’s difficult to tell; his prospects are grim at best. Jaejoong tries to figure out the data spread again, but it’s no use. The computer doesn’t know how to categorize it, and if the computer doesn’t know, there’s no way Jaejoong can figure it out.

There’s nothing for it. Jaejoong grasps the controls of the ship and begins to inch it forward. _Move_ , he thinks at the blob of white, _get out of my way_. Jaejoong’s actually surprised when it’s only moments until the white clouds of dust actually do. Though he thinks that maybe it’s because he’s moving the ship, not because he’s telepathic and can speak to space dust.

He starts to get glimpses of black through his viewer and by the time he clears most of the white, he wishes he hadn’t moved the ship. Damn him and his stupid curiosity; someday, quite possibly today, it is going to get him killed.

Two ships are locked in a raging firefight. Jaejoong can’t identify their make or model, or even what is being shot. It looks white hot and as one ship manages to sear a line on the other’s wing, Jaejoong’s sure one misstep will result in a huge explosion.

And given _that_ , Jaejoong is a sitting duck if they either notice him or a bolt fires in his direction; he’s not sure his shield can withstand whatever substance that is. His best option seems to be making them stop. _Maybe they can even answer my questions._

It’s just how to get them to do that.

He opens up all his gun ports, hoping they don’t have advanced scanners and are able to tell that his ammunition is certainly nothing in comparison to the caliber of their guns. He takes a breath and opens a channel, urging for them to stop with whatever will he has left. “Stop,” he croaks.

Nothing happens. Jaejoong checks his channels again, and this time, with even more insistence, says, “ _Stop_.” Seconds pass and then Jaejoong watches (half elated half terrified) as the ships come to a sudden halt, almost simultaneously, and hang suspended in the vacuum of space.

He feels powerful for about a minute before he realizes that maybe they’re waiting to see what he wants. _They can answer my questions_ , he reminds himself, and given the circumstances, inviting them aboard seems like the only option. He hits a few buttons, waiting for the hangar bay to depressurize and then spins the ship slowly, opening the bay up wide. An invitation.

 _Come on_ , he thinks.

There’s a moment of hesitation before both ships start up and he breathes a sigh of relief. River forded; though, as he watches the sleek fighters inch closer, he knows there is still a mountain to be overcome.

\--

Jaejoong observes the two ships gliding smoothly into the hangar bay, despite the cramped space, and he takes a deep breath, willing away his fear so as to appear completely in charge of the situation. He waits until enough oxygen has settled in the bay, before opening the hatch, shoving down his questions of _where am I, what day is it, what year is it, what the fuck is going on_ , and strides out, trying to look intimidating.

The first man to pop his hatch is rugged looking, thick brows stretching across a pair of the most expressive eyes Jaejoong's ever seen. His jaw is set firmly, looking serious and very dangerous, and Jaejoong tells himself to calm down, pleased when he feels his heart rate decrease almost immediately. They stare at one another, sizing each other up as the second man jumps down from his cockpit. He's more wiry, around Jaejoong's size and height, and his hair is a little longer. _He's pretty,_ Jaejoong thinks distractedly, before he gives himself a mental shake.

"My name is Seunghyun,” the first man says, and jerks a thumb at the pretty one. "This is Hyunjoong."

 _They know each other,_ Jaejoong’s brow creases.

“I’m Jaejoong." His voice is still scratchy, and the word hurts to say, but he fights back the pain, forcing it away from his consciousness.

"Jaejoong," Hyunjoong says quietly, nodding, "You asked us to come aboard. So here we are. What do you want?"

Jaejoong swallows down his questions. "Talk," he says, and this time he's sure the wince crosses his face, if only for a few seconds.

"Here?" Seunghyun asks.

Jaejoong doesn't trust himself to speak so he beckons and walks out of the bay. He's starting to think the initial rush of adrenaline blocked a lot of things wrong with his body, as his pain is getting harder and harder to ignore. He leads them up to where the cryo chamber is and by the time he turns around to face them, he can't stop his right hand from shaking. He uses his left one to point at the chamber.

Seunghyun catches on right away. "You were in cryo," he says. He turns to Hyunjoong, "Truce until we figure this out?" They shake and Jaejoong feels marginally better, though he's not sure why. He has no idea why Seunghyun and Hyunjoong even bothered to listen to him and come aboard, or why they deem it necessary to help a total stranger get his ship (and life) in order. At the moment, Jaejoong isn’t going to complain.

Hyunjoong makes for the console.

Seunghyun approaches him warily, as if he expects Jaejoong to combust at any second. “I’m a medical officer,” he says, “Can I take a quick look at you?”

Jaejoong nods, sitting back on the cryo bed, letting Seunghyun lay hands on him. He jumps a little when something that Seunghyun does causes Jaejoong to get goosebumps and Seunghyun’s eyes narrow. “Did you feel that? Can you feel this?”

Jaejoong cocks his head and then his eyes widen as he feels his heart speed up all of a sudden and the blood in his veins rush so fast he gets dizzy. He takes a deep breath of air and as he had done earlier, slows his heart back down as he breathes out, glares at Seunghyun when he can see straight.

“Oh God,” Seunghyun says, “Hyunjoong. Oh God.”

There’s a gun strapped to the bottom of the console, Jaejoong knows, as Seunghyun takes a step away from him, looking positively petrified. Jaejoong thinks he can make a dive for it, if this mess ends in a shoot out, and he also thinks he has a fighting chance. He hops off the cryo bed, trying to look fierce.

“You,” Seunghyun says slowly, “You’re a Duster, aren’t you?”

Jaejoong blinks.

“I mean,” Seunghyun breathes, “A really powerful one, right? Because you shouldn’t have just been able to do that. How long have you been in here, do you even know?”

Jaejoong shakes his head.

Hyunjoong finally comes away from the data readouts, “You’ve been in here longer than I’ve been alive, at least. I don’t recognize the make of this console at all; this ship is archaic. I’m surprised it’s not falling apart as we speak.” He gives Jaejoong a critical once over, “Who are you?”

 _That’s what I’d like to ask you_ Jaejoong thinks, but his throat hurts so much now, even breathing through his nose creates a burning sensation in his trachea. He takes a few careful steps to the console, navigating the buttons to bring up the ship’s log, pleased that he still remembers the general password for cruisers. He thinks he’s dealing with all this relatively well. Hyunjoong seems to be his age, at least, maybe even a few years younger. He can live with having been in cryo twenty years. It’s a little bit of a shock, but he imagines he can get use to it rather quickly. Technology at the very least, will have progressed immensely, and he thinks somewhat happily that maybe they’ve fixed all the stupid little bugs that annoyed him so much.

His family is another matter, of course. But honestly, he has no option except to adapt. And he will.

Both Seunghyun and Hyunjoong lean over his shoulder as he punches in the final commands and they’re silent for a few minutes before Seunghyun asks him hoarsely, “Are these dates correct?”

Jaejoong frowns, checks the date even though he’s sure it’s right, and nods, eyebrows raising.

“Oh God,” Seunghyun repeats, staggering back a little, “Shit.”

Hyunjoong’s hands are shaking as he also takes a step back, and a little apprehension returns into the back of Jaejoong’s mind. Had it been longer than twenty years? Thirty? Fifty? More? _My family_ , Jaejoong thinks, _My. My family. My. Life_. Fuck shit damn. His _life_. He had liked his life.

“Jaejoong,” Hyunjoong says carefully, “Jaejoong, if you’re sure this is the right date, you’ve been in cryo for a really long time. A _really_ long time. Are you positive that this is correct?”

Jaejoong starts to wish that he isn’t.

“Do you remember why you were put in cryo?”

The images are still pretty dim, so Jaejoong dives into the ship’s logs again and points them towards it. “Meteorite,” he says carefully.

“Oh _God_ ,” Seunghyun says again.

“Jaejoong,” Hyunjoong says, and he takes Jaejoong’s hands like he’s known him for years, not minutes. “Jaejoong, that was five hundred years ago.”

The information sinks in slowly, and when Jaejoong can finally wrap his brain around it, he panics, and it’s only moments before he blacks out.

\--

Jaejoong wakes up to beeping again, and this time it’s an actual heart monitor. Seunghyun is next to him in a second and he looks like he’s showered, his face much softer than it had been. “You passed out,” he says, before Jaejoong can ask. “You have a lot of internal damage that, due to the Dust in your system, you were ignoring. Save your questions; we’ll answer them in a bit. Hyunjoong’s gone to make sure the engine isn’t going to blow up in our faces. This is thing is pretty rickety.”

 _Tell me about it_ , Jaejoong thinks, _This ship sucked five hundred years ago, too._ The thought is sobering, and then overwhelming; he has to force down the tears welling in his eyes.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Seunghyun pats his arm, “Try to relax. When Hyunjoong gets back, we’ll talk.”

Jaejoong tries to clear his mind. He focuses just on breathing, five seconds in and five seconds out, and when that proves boring, starts to count the lights blinking on the ceiling. He had just reached forty-one when Hyunjoong comes back up, grease smudged all over his clothing and face, parts of his hair matted to his head.

“Surprisingly,” he says, “I was wrong. This ship is not even archaic. It’s beyond that. But we’re good. For awhile, anyway.”

“You’re a miracle worker.”

“I am,” Hyunjoong nods, “Also very grimy, but a shower can wait. Right now, we need to talk about you.” His gaze rests on Jaejoong, who actually finds himself blushing. “What do we do with you?”

“Not kill me,” Jaejoong says carefully, and is relieved when they both laugh.

“Jaejoong,” Seunghyun says, “The last thing either of us want is you dead.”

Well, that’s good. Not dead is very good, especially considering he lasted five hundred years in cryo; dying now would be a terrible shame.

“There’s a lot to tell you,” Hyunjoong sits down next to Seunghyun, “But we’ll start with the meteorite. It hit the moon—do you remember?”

Jaejoong nods; that had happened seconds before he had been put into cryo. He remembers the tremors.

“Okay, well, normally when an asteroid hits there’s—an explosion. Things combust into a glowing ball of fire and shower everywhere. But when it hit all those years ago, the moon actually imploded.”

“There was a—“ Seunghyun coughs, “Substance, I suppose you could call it, with certain properties on the comet, and when it hit the moon, it actually reacted with it, causing the whole thing to morph into that.“

He points to the viewer and Jaejoong assumes “that” to mean the mass of white roiling in space. “We call it Moondust,” Hyunjoong explains. “And it, along with the implosion, created wormholes and sent pockets of the Dust spiraling all over the solar system. The Moondust that stayed around Earth is almost gone, and we’ve started explorations to find the pockets that had jumped away. Which is how we found you. Dust is our—it’s the way of life nowadays. We can’t do anything without it. It gives us a power source, advanced technology...” Hyunjoong trails off with a cock of his head. “Sometimes special abilities.”

“I think,” Seunghyun adds, “It’s the only reason you’re alive. It’s the reason why you’re so powerful.”

 _Powerful,_ Jaejoong thinks, and lets his confusion and skepticism take over his face.

“Jaejoong, you didn’t just ask us to come aboard. You _made_ us. This Dust. We were fighting over it. There isn’t Dust more powerful anywhere in the Galaxy, at least that’s been found. You’ve been here so long, it’s infiltrated your body and has kept you alive. You’ve had five hundred years to let it sink into your body and get all friendly with it. It _listens_ to you. And once you learn how to speak to it--“ Seunghyun stops, his meaning clear.

 _Powerful,_ Jaejoong thinks again.

“We have to get you better.”

Jaejoong doesn’t like the look of desperation on Hyunjoong face. If they had been fighting over the Dust, then why are they friends now? Why are they helping him?

“We need you,” Seunghyun says, clearly understanding Jaejoong confused facial expressions, “We don’t agree on much,” he throws a sly glance at Hyunjoong, “But we need you. You change everything.”

 _What’s everything?_ Jaejoong wonders, but this time, his silent query isn’t answered.

“You need a lot of medical attention,” Hyunjoong says instead.

“I’m skilled,” Seunghyun says, “But your health is precarious and you’ll probably need surgery. However, I can’t know that for sure unless we do some scans, and for that, we need to be on my ship.  I’m going to take you, and Hyunjoong is going to keep the coordinates for this Dust while I erase my computer of it, that way we each have something. Though, as far as we’re concerned, this Dust belongs to you, so for the moment, we’re going to respectfully leave it alone. We’ll keep it between the three of us.”

“But I am going to put a tracker here,” Hyunjoong adds, “Just in case someone else accidentally happens upon it.”

“And your ship stays,” Seunghyun says, “It’s probably only functioning because of the Dust anyhow.”

“Okay,” Jaejoong agrees. He doesn’t think he can call all this Moondust or whatever his, but if they want to think that, it’s probably for the best. At least for right now.

“Let’s get you some help,” Hyunjoong says, and reaches out his arms.

\--

They lift Jaejoong carefully between them both, hoisting him up into Seunghyun’s ship and settling him as comfortably as they can in the cramped copilot seat. Seunghyun re-attaches an IV pouch, and shoots some drugs into it, immediately making Jaejoong drowsy. “You’ll need some training before you can pass through wormholes conscious.”

Seunghyun turns to talk to Hyunjoong and he sees them shake hands again, though this time they seem much warmer. Jaejoong settles down a little more, the drugs making him more comfortable and calm. The hatch is closed and he watches Seunghyun seal it before tucking an emergency blanket around Jaejoong’s body and buckling him in securely.

“I promise you’ll be safe,” he says, “Go to sleep.”

 _Safe_ , Jaejoong thinks, and hopes he really is.


	2. Chapter 2

  
**Three Years Later**  
  
  
Kyuhyun is woken from a very peaceful sleep by the blaring of an alarm. He whacks his face into the bulkhead as he sits up too fast and swears profusely because  _goddamn_  he is the captain of the  _Seersha_ , of this stupid bucket of bolts and that should mean he gets actual quarters. Actual  _space_.  
  
He jams his shirt over his head and slams his feet into his boots, hurdling through the corridor as he pins his insignia onto his shirt. Not that he needs it; everyone knows who he is, no matter what planet or space station in the system they call home.  
  
"It had better not be Runners," he says, as soon as the door to the bridge slides open, “and my Dust had better be intact.”  
  
His first officer abandons the captain's chair. His jaw is set angrily and Kyuhyun feels his stomach drop. "Changmin,” he pleads in his Boyfriend Voice rather than Angry Captain Voice in hopes that it might make the situation better.  
  
"I don't know how they did it," Changmin says, in his Commanding Officer Voice, and that alone is answer enough. He pushes a newly assigned ensign out of his tactical area, hands flying over the console boards. Kyuhyun feels moderately safer. No one in Jung Yunho’s entire fleet was better at weapons than Changmin. Not with a ship, not with a sidearm, not with anything, even fists.  
  
Kyuhyun starts barking out orders.  _Find a Dust trail to latch onto, bring up the images on my screen, get our damn shields up, someone get me a cup of coffee, where the hell is Minho? I want him flying my ship!_  The first three are taken care of immediately because it's Changmin that does it and Changmin is quite possibly the most reliable person Kyuhyun has ever known. After a few minutes pass without anyone getting him a drink, he turns to the ensign Changmin had replaced and tells him and his high cheekbones that unless he comes back with something strong and hot, he's fired and demoted and screwed for the rest of his career.  
  
Images are flying by on Kyuhyun's viewer when Minho finally arrives and launches himself into the pilot's seat. Kyuhyun doesn’t bother with acknowledgement, pleased as he is, the viewer taking up the majority of his attention.  
  
Most of the pictures are nondescript, the ship that had stolen their Dust clever enough to avoid getting captured completely by hull cameras, and that tells Kyuhyun that these people know where the cameras are and that means they've most likely encountered Kyuhyun before—most likely stolen Dust from him before and enough times to get away with it. Or at least for now; it will not remain that way for long, if he has anything to say about it. Kyuhyun huffs and continues watching. He sort of recognizes the ship, though it's hard to tell, exactly, and it's not until one of the last images that he catches sight of a very blurry red line slashing across one side of the ship’s hull.  
  
He swears. "How close are they?"  
  
"Within a few parsecs," Changmin says, his hands still typing furiously, "We could probably drop into a 'Hole, if you really wanted."  
  
"I do," Kyuhyun says, “so long as they left us enough Dust to accomplish that.”  
  
The Runners had, though just barely.  
  
Minho gives him the coordinates just as the ensign comes back with a mug of coffee. It's possibly the most disgusting replication Kyuhyun's ever had to swallow, but he does anyway. It's not the kid's fault the ship is a piece of junk. Maybe if Kyuhyun gets these Runners, The Scientist will give him a new one. That would be nice.  
  
The lights flash green in warning and Kyuhyun covers his coffee just in time, shutting his eyes as they lurch unpleasantly and then he breathes deep as they're suspended, hurtling through space at a sickening speed for a mere three seconds before popping out of the 'Hole. The ship groans but Kyuhyun doesn't have time to echo it. The comm officer, someone new The Scientist had assigned to the ship, falls out of his chair and throws up, just barely missing his console. He leaves before Kyuhyun can tell him to  _get another career, imbecile_ , and just as a cleaning droid rolls in to take care of the mess.  
  
Someone is shouting stats at him.  
  
Kyuhyun points at the ensign with high cheekbones who was now clinging to a railing for dear life. "You. What's your name?  
  
"Kim Ryeowook, sir."  
  
"Ensign Kim. Can you run a comm board?"  
  
The ensign nods.  
  
“Then go sit and get a channel open. Minho, get me oriented. Where the hell is that ship?"  
  
Dead ahead, once Minho rotates them slightly, and slipping away fast. No doubt they had been spotted. Minho speeds up without having to be told and Kyuhyun knows Changmin's charging weapons, just waiting for the order.  
  
"Is that the  _Ikati_?” Minho asks.  
  
"Yes," Kyuhyun mutters darkly, "Yes, it is."  
  
“I have a channel,” the Ensign Kim says, adding belatedly, "Captain."  
  
Kyuhyun narrows his eyes.  
  
“This Captain Cho Kyuhyun of System Scientists,” Kyuhyun greets, though he means it as a warning, “Power down immediately and prepare to be boarded. You are under suspicion of smuggling Dust and failure to comply will result in serious consequences.”  
  
There’s a short pause and Kyuhyun holds his breath, thinking that maybe they’ll get lucky and it’s not who he thinks it is, that the two factions of Runners have finally killed each other off and the ship with the red stripe is under new ownership. But then a voice he knows all too well rolls around in the bridge. Rumbling and reverberating, it causes Kyuhyun to clutch his chair in an attempt to control his stomach. Fucking voice Duster. He spares a glance at Ryeowook, who looks slightly green, but whose fingers haven't stopped moving; Kyuhyun is mildly impressed. Maybe the newbie is going to be worth something besides coffee runs.  
  
"Kyuhyun," the voices croons, “It’s been so long.”  
  
“Kim Heechul,” Kyuhyun manages to make his greeting sound normal.  
  
“You had some well-refined Dust pocketed behind your ship back there.”  
  
"That's  _my_  Dust," Kyuhyun says vehemently.  
  
“Not anymore.”  
  
Kyuhyun can almost see Heechul’s smirk.  
  
Suddenly it’s a pointless conversation. He cuts it off himself, not bothering to give Ryeowook the order. Talking is always a distraction with Heechul as it gives him time to set his Dusters up to attack: ones that can cripple an immune system, ones that can control pain receptors, ones that can stop a heart and boil blood.  
  
Kyuhyun has only a skin Duster, which isn’t helpful unless you need a few bodies to be invisible. And he has Changmin. But Changmin can only influence one person’s adrenaline at a time and it takes awhile for him to affect his target.  
  
The  _Ikati_  banks hard to the left and Kyuhyun grits his teeth as Heechul’s ship starts spitting superheated Dust. Kyuhyun snaps out orders, coordinating Minho’s piloting and Changmin’s counterattacks, all the while impressed at how Ryeowook keeps a cool head and shouts the ship’s status reports at him over all the noise. His voice is surprisingly loud for someone so small.  
  
 _Definitely keeping the newbie,_  Kyuhyun thinks, as Minho ducks the ship under a bolt without waiting for Kyuhyun’s orders.  
  
“Kim,” Kyuhyun snaps, “Can you fire our weapons?”  
  
Ryeowook cocks his head, hits a few buttons, then nods. “Yes.”  
  
“Changmin, get into Hyunjoong’s head. Put him to sleep fast so that they nose dive,”  _while hopefully crashing into an asteroid and burning_. Though not before Kyuhyun gets his Dust back.  
  
Kyuhyun watches intently, leaving Minho to fly and Ryeowook to spray patterns of fire at the ship as best he can. Kyuhyun can’t help them; he needs to be completely alert so as to know when to fire one of his few, precious, Dust torpedoes. If they’re lucky, Hyunjoong—Heechul’s nervous system Duster—will be passed out before he realizes what’s happening.  
  
“Easy,” Kyuhyun murmurs, mostly out of habit. Changmin knows by now.  
  
After a minute, and for a split second, the  _Ikati_  wobbles uncharacteristically and Kyuhyun feels a thrill run through him. “Got them, Changmin!” Minho dips the  _Seersha_ , blasting towards Heechul’s ship, and Kyuhyun counts backwards just seconds before Ryeowook yells out a warning.  
  
Changmin screams.  
  
A stabbing pain flourishes in Kyuhyun’s side. His extremities begin to burn, and it spreads across his entire body. He gasps for air, unable to think past the pain, and no longer able to resist it, he pulls his finger away from the trigger. The anguish subsides almost immediately.  
  
Changmin is writhing on the floor, no evident pain, but Kyuhyun knows there doesn’t need to be, not with a nervous system Duster. It takes everything in Kyuhyun’s power to not abandon his captain’s seat and wrap his arms around his boyfriend in hopes it will alleviate the pain. When he finally stops screaming, Kyuhyun knows Changmin’s pulled back his attack. Minho is reversing the ship with shaky hands.  
  
They have failed. Again.  
  
“They want to talk.” The tremor in Ryeowook’s voice is evident and Kyuhyun feels a little bad. It’s certainly a hell of a first day for the poor kid.  
  
“Connect,” Kyuhyun dictates, and takes a few calming breaths.  
  
“You’re so low,” Heechul’s voice says, “Changmin, they abuse you. Come over to our side; we’ll let you do whatever you want with your ability. We’ll help you nurture it.”  
  
Changmin cannot even croak out a response and Heechul seems to understand this because he laughs. “The offer is open, at least,” he says. “We’re leaving now, and I suggest you do not follow.”  
  
“They’re releasing Dust for a wormhole,” Ryeowook announces.  
  
Kyuhyun doesn’t say anything, just helps Changmin up, putting an arm around his waist. “Let them go,” he finally whispers, even though it’s already too late to follow them.  
  
 _Someday_ , Kyuhyun swears, as he helps Changmin out the door,  _Someday soon, Kim Heechul, I will_  obliterate  _you_.  
  
\--  
  
Changmin is tucked into bed like a toddler, Kyuhyun smoothing back his hair, feeling horrible because he knows he cannot make the pain go away. He can’t show favoritism, even though the whole fleet knows they’re together, but Kyuhyun can’t hold himself back any longer and sometimes he makes exceptions to the rules because it’s hard.  
  
It’s hard seeing someone you love in pain.  
  
“I almost had them,” Changmin murmurs, “I was so close.”  
  
“I know,” Kyuhyun smiles, “Someday.”  
  
He lets Changmin rest, heading back to the bridge to find the new guy.  _Ensign Kim_ , he reminds himself. The ensign whom, as far as Kyuhyun is concerned, should be a lieutenant.  
  
Kim Ryeowook is still fiddling with the sensor boards. “I was just going to comm you,” he says brightly, “I meant to tell you before, but since you hurried out so quickly I couldn’t.”  
  
Kyuhyun leans over Ryeowook’s shoulder, watching the board intently. “What’s this?” He asks, not recognizing the readouts.  
  
“I’m usually not so bold,” Ryeowook says, “but whatever their Duster did really hurt and it pissed me off. So I attached a tracking device to their hull. Just, you know, in case you come up with a brilliant plan to end him and need to know where he is in the next twenty-four hours.”  
  
Kyuhyun’s jaw drops. “You did  _what_?”  
  
It’s not like he has never tried before. But some Duster or other always found it, destroying it before it could transmit any sort of useful data. “You managed to keep it on there?”  
  
“While their guard was down,” Ryeowook explains, “I put it right next to their engine where the Dust output would mask it. The downside is, as I’m sure you know, that it will only last for a little while before the heat of the engine exhaust will melt it away.”  
  
 _Oh_ , Kyuhyun thinks,  _If I wasn’t already dating, I would take this man out and make sweet love to him. Right now._  “I like people with initiative,” Kyuhyun says instead. “I’ll speak with Yunho about it. If it takes longer than a day to get permission to go after them then we’ll at least have a trajectory of some sort.”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
“Nice work,” Kyuhyun says, “I guess I’ll keep you around for awhile.”  
  
“Thank you, sir.”  
  
Kyuhyun pats Ryeowook on the back and wanders over to Minho. “Did you hear that? New kid is worth his weight in Dust.”  
  
“We’re all very impressed,” Minho intones. “How’s Changmin?”  
  
“Resting,” Kyuhyun smiles, before adding, “Both his body and pride.”  
  
“Someday we’ll win,” Minho says.  
  
“Someday,” Kyuhyun agrees, and heads to his captain’s chair to call Yunho in hopes that  _someday_  is sooner than they all think.  
  
Ryeowook patches him through, speaking politely to the receiving comm officer at Yunho’s end, and after five minutes, is granted access to Yunho’s comm. His face fills the screen and Kyuhyun bows respectfully. “I’ve got a brilliant comm officer,” he starts, “and it’s not the one you gave me. He was worthless.”  
  
“Sorry to hear that. What has this brilliant comm officer done for you? You don’t normally call for chit chat.”  
  
“We got a tracking device on Heechul’s ship.”  
  
Yunho’s face remains blank for a few minutes before his expression displays cautious optimism. “What’s the catch?”  
  
“The catch is that it’s on top of the engine and will melt away within a day, and that’s only if they don’t find it first.”  
  
“So we haven’t got much time,” Yunho chews his lip in thought, “Where are they now?”  
  
Kyuhyun throws a glance to Ryeowook and beckons him forward. “They’re orbiting Phobos, sir,” Ryeowook says, bowing. “They’ve been there since dropping out of their ‘hole. Hopefully, that means our Dust is there as well.”  
  
“Right,” Yunho says, “Jungsu is running an errand near Neptune, so I’ll have Jieun’s fleet join me. I’ll need you to map out our jump so we all land in the same place at the same time, Ensign.”  
  
“Of course, sir, I’ll start immediately.”  
  
“I’ll have Jinki send you our coordinates as soon as we’re done talking. Kyuhyun, I need a plan. I’m going into a quick meeting and don’t have time to draft one.”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
They end the conversation with hopeful smiles and Kyuhyun calls up the system maps, staring at it for awhile as Ryeowook waits for the coordinates. Jieun’s fleet comprises of six ships, though Kyuhyun has a sneaking suspicion she has one or two no one ever sees unless they’re about to be blown to pieces. She’s sweet and charming, but also cunning, and Kyuhyun can’t count the number of times he’s thanked his lucky stars they’re on the same side.  
  
The plan doesn’t take long to concoct because dropping anywhere near Phobos or even Mars will set off immediate alarms, and it isn’t like they have the entire Scientist navy with them. But with more than one ship, it should hopefully even out the fight; he is sure the Runners don’t have Dusters that can overpower himself, Yunho, and Jieun all at the same time.  
  
“Here are the maps,” Ryeowook says, and wormholes through space materialize on the strategy boards, glowing a bright blue. “I’ve sent them off to the other captains as well. If we follow it precisely everyone should end up at Phobos at the same time.”  
  
Kyuhyun scrutinizes them for a moment before nodding. “Excellent,” he says, “This should theoretically work.”  
  
He grins back at Ryeowook and feels a little thrill run through him. “I’m going to get Changmin; he’s going to want to be awake for this.”  
  
Changmin, when Kyuhyun makes it back to him, is still out cold. Kyuhyun rolls his eyes, “You haven’t even moved a millimeter.”  
  
He feels a little bad about waking his CO, but as soon as Kyuhyun says “Heechul” and “ass kicking,” Changmin’s wide awake, downing a whole cup of coffee and feeling much better.  
  
“That was quick,” he comments as they make their way back to the bridge.  
  
“The new kid’s brilliant,” Kyuhyun shrugs, and when they’re in the lift on the way up, Changmin presses in for a kiss. Kyuhyun’s so high on adrenaline he doesn’t care, and he  _really_  feels good when the lift door opens. “Ready?” He asks Minho, who nods.  
  
Ryeowook hits the warning alarms to signal that they’re entering a wormhole and Kyuhyun sits down, arranging himself nicely and feeling like a million dollars.  _I’m going to end you, Kim Heechul_ , Kyuhyun thinks,  _and I’m going to love every single second of it._  
  
\--  
  
The stars wink back into existence as Jung Yunho's flagship, called just “The Ship,” drops out of its wormhole. Sequential beeping from the monitors signals to him that the rest of Jieun’s fleet has successfully followed and he watches his boards carefully as they fall into their predetermined battle formations. They're particularly precise, as they should be, and Yunho allows a small smile to show, knowing full well it would be relayed. There is no need to speak when there is someone monitoring his every facial expression.  
  
His captains comm him one by one with status reports and the only one he has an actual conversation with is Kyuhyun. Privately, of course.  
  
 _Kick his ass_.  
  
 _With pleasure_ , comes the response, and Yunho allows another smile, knowing that will get passed on as well, and possibly be on the evening news. He can see the headline now:  _Scientist Jung Smiles Twice in Runner Raid; Are We Winning?_  He almost snorts, but decides to not: God knows what the press will think of that.  
  
“Listen up, people. They’re here somewhere and I’m pretty sure they know that we’re here, so let’s get them before they bolt.”  
  
The plan is textbook. Use the snub fighters to lure Heechul out into the open and then have the flagships pulverize the bastard into little bits. It’s a very loud, very satisfying plan and Yunho likes it. Now is not the time to be subtle.  
  
Jieun’s fighters launch, and he watches apprehensively as they begin to leisurely circle around Mars’ moon. Phobos isn’t very large, but neither is Heechul’s ship, and it could very easily be hiding anywhere, either on the moon itself, unstable as that would be, or just behind it where no one can yet see them.  
  
Yunho hits his comm button, “Kyuhyun, take a jaunt around the space station. Soojung, I want scans of that rock yesterday. And connect me to whomever’s in charge of it.”  
  
It’s seconds before a man’s face pops up on the screen, looking scared out of his mind. He bows, clears his throat, but Yunho interrupts him before he can speak.  
  
“Kim Heechul is hiding here on the  _Ikati_. You wouldn’t happen to know where, would you?”  
  
“Ah,” the man stutters, “Er, no. I. We have a lot of ships that pass through this port?”  
  
“I see,” Yunho says, and frowns slightly. There’s the sound of furious typing from behind him, and titles flash across his mind.  _Jung Yunho frowns at a Station Admiral: Another Unexplainable Situation!_  or even  _Inside Jung’s Mind: What Makes Him Unhappy?_  
  
“So if I were to find him,” Yunho asks, “Would that make you ignorant or a liar?”  
  
The man swallows. “Um. I’d be happy to assist in any way.”  
  
Yunho nods approvingly and allows the frown to disappear. “Lovely. Please forward to my comm officer a manifesto of all registered ships and then separately a list of those you’ve allowed to illegally dock.”  
  
“ _Sir_ ,” the man begins.  
  
“Within the next minute, please, I’d hate for them to get away.”  _Jung Gets Testy: What This Means For Our Taxes!_  
  
“Right away, sir, of course, sir.”  
  
Yunho cuts the line before Soojung can, and this time his frown isn’t planned. “Inform me the moment you receive them,” he says to his comm officer, even though he doesn’t look at her. He knows she nods, though, because the power he has over Dust allows him to feel her muscles move. She’s even smiling. It’s one of the things Yunho likes about her. Besides never giving anyone crap and also refusing to take it, she’s pleasant, at least to him, and he likes that.  _Jung Yunho: A Man in Love!_  That, at least, Yunho thinks, would be true, though not if it is about Soojung. She’s a little too young for him.  
  
He messages Kyuhyun privately again, not wanting another conversation recorded and psychologically analyzed, and asks him how Changmin is. He had always been Yunho’s favorite Duster in training; his ability to control adrenaline gives him potential to thwart even some of the most powerful Runner Dusters, given the right circumstances. Yunho is always in favor of that.  
  
The response is short, which Yunho takes to mean that while Changmin might be okay, he’s not at full capacity. Kyuhyun had sent along a short report on the skirmish earlier in the day, and Yunho knows all too well how much Heechul’s nervous system Duster can screw with a person’s body. Yunho would honestly kill to have a Duster that powerful.  
  
“I have both lists, sir,” Soojung says, and Yunho calls them up on one of his screens, scanning them both until he finds something that looks promising. He can recognize that red stripe anywhere.  
  
“There,” he says, “A few hours ago. A ship illegally docked at the station. Jieun should be coming up on it any moment. Give her a head’s up. Battle stations, people, get our shields up.”  
  
The alarms blare. Yunho knows his ship jumping into orbit around Mars had certainly set off warning bells, and if Heechul hasn’t already guessed it, the Dust shields are a good indicator of what they are planning. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Yunho mutters, gaze intent on the screen in front of him, and five heartbeats later, Kim Heechul and his band of smugglers do exactly that.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun lets out a yell as the  _Ikati_  shoots past them. “Minho!”  
  
Shouting the rest of the order is pointless; Minho already has them turned around and speeding after the striped ship, edging past it and flipping back around. Ryeowook spits fire at them, driving Heechul back towards Yunho’s command vessel which is armed with weapons that are far more deadly than Kyuhyun’s paltry bolts of superheated Moondust.  
  
But Heechul’s pilot evades those as well, spiraling down so fast Kyuhyun wonders how the crew doesn’t get sick. Minho is swearing, diving after them but thankfully avoiding too many spins. “Drive him towards Jieun!” Kyuhyun orders, straining to keep his voice calm. “But I want them focused on us. If anything, their stupid Dusters should be focused on us so that Jieun can blast them out of the sky.”  
  
No one likes it but it’s the best shot they have. They already dealt with the pain once; he’s sure he can do it again and hopefully long enough for their plan to work.  
  
He begins to feel a little giddy as the fleet surrounds Heechul, driving him forwards, backwards, and keeping him from diving down. The crazy precision with which Yunho’s technical officer relays each firing pattern is astounding: even though few are hitting Heechul, none of the missed shots are hitting the fleet or even the space station.  
  
Not that Kyuhyun isn’t able to do the same thing. He knows he’s not receiving orders for a reason: Yunho trusts him to make the correct calculations to fire torpedoes safely, and a few minutes later, when Heechul dodges a shot from Yunho’s cannon, Kyuhyun sees it.  
  
His torpedo rips through the side of Heechul’s ship, scarily close to the engine and for a moment, they’re paralyzed. It’s all they need. Kyuhyun hears the order projected to every ship, Yunho’s voice booming into every bridge to  _fire_  to pound everything they have into the crippled  _Ikati_  before—  
  
The screaming starts. Yunho’s voice is a strangled cry, throbbing in Kyuhyun’s ears, a never ending sound of pain reverberating throughout the entire fleet. It’s like fingernails on metal, like glass shattering from a high pitched shriek, and Kyuhyun is sure his eardrums are seconds away from bursting. But then it stops.  
  
 _Pull back_.  
  
The command is insistent in Kyuhyun’s mind. It’s not words, but rather intent, and Kyuhyun’s fingers are leaving the trigger, Minho’s hands reversing their ship, the entire fleet moving away.  _PULL BACK_.  
  
It’s a Duster, Kyuhyun’s sure of it, and he’s frozen in terror as he watches the fleet making way for Heechul’s stricken ship. Someone is controlling him.  _Someone is controlling my brain_. He can’t move a muscle, can’t do anything but breathe and watch in absolute horror as the Runner ship slides past the stricken fleet and releases Dust for a wormhole.  _No_ , he thinks.  
  
 _STAY_ , is the firm intent, and the fleet does.  
  
“No,” he manages to whisper, before his mouth clamps shut against his will and he almost bites off his own tongue.  _NO_.  
  
But they’re gone, the Dust trail vanishing as the Scientist fleet is released from whatever hold had been put on them and even though he hadn’t been holding his breath, Kyuhyun lets it out in a rush, sagging into his chair.  
  
“The hell was that?” Changmin growls.  
  
“Do they have a—a brain Duster?” Minho asks, his voice hollow with disbelief.  
  
The viewer crackles for a moment before Yunho’s face swims into view. He looks like he’s still in immense pain. “Find him,” he hisses, “Capture that ship, find that Duster, and bring him to me. Or we’re all dead.”

 

\--

 

  
Jaejoong watches, silently relieved, as Heechul’s ship drops into a swirl of Dust, no doubt heading to their hideout to recoup for repairs. They had made it,  _Hyunjoong_  had made it, and now Jaejoong has to make sure that  _he_  makes it, because the possibility of him being shot in the head is quite high.  
  
Daesung had caught Heechul’s distress signal and without waiting for an order from either Jiyong or Seunghyun, Jaejoong had dropped Jiyong’s  _Arach_  in pursuit and arrived in time to make the Scientist fleet freeze. It’s a relief, because one look at the  _Ikati_  and Jaejoong had known it was about to be blasted out of the sky. The Scientists may not have a lot of Dusters, but the ones they do have are made of the worst nightmares: people who can break bone from miles away, people who can atrophy any muscle without a second thought. They are specific Dusting abilities, but the Scientists have learned intense and precise control that trumps anything the Runners have.  
  
Except for Jaejoong himself, though that particular secret is still kept close, even after three years. Until now. True to their word, Hyunjoong and Seunghyun have never uttered a syllable about the Dust, and they’ve also kept secret Jaejoong’s prowess with its use. Scientists may be powerful in one area but Jaejoong has control of the brain and that means he’s as powerful as all the Dusters in the galaxy put together. This is the first instance he’s used that power, but he has a feeling he’ll need to more often; The Runners only have so long before the Scientist’s find someone like Jaejoong, someone who can use Dust to control any human brain.  
  
And then they’ll all go boom. Or send someone in for a kidnapping. After what just happened, Jaejoong thinks that’s the most viable option.  
  
He turns as he hears the bridge door slide open, and tries hard not to cower as a furious Jiyong storms onto the bridge in his sleepwear, blond hair a mess and a pillow imprint decorating his cheek. Seunghyun is right behind him looking ready to shoot someone in the face. “The  _hell_  is going on?”  
  
“I think the cryo has finally got to Jaejoong’s head,” Daesung says. He’s smiling, but as usual, Jaejoong can’t tell what that means. Daesung  _always_  smiles.  
  
“It was a distress call,” Jaejoong says, waving away Seunghyun as he skirts around Jiyong and tries to reach out to check Jaejoong’s vitals.  
  
“Heechul’s,” Daesung corrects, still grinning, and it’s a little maniacal.  
  
Seunghyun gapes, Jiyong splutters, and Jaejoong says the only thing he can think of to diffuse the tension: “He was about to be blasted into space ash. I get that you hate him but he’s a runner, and if he dies, that’s one less person in the way of total Scientist domination.”  
  
“So you did what? Hoped you could help by dropping us in the middle of a Scientist fleet which, by the way,  _is still out there_? What do you intend to do if they notice us?”  
  
 _They won’t_ , Jaejoong thinks, but stays silent because Seunghyun gives him a look that either means, “Speaking will get us killed,” or “Speaking will not get me laid.” Unfortunately for them, Jiyong notices it, and Seunghyun’s expression becomes “speaking will get me castrated, please don’t say anything for the love of God.”  
  
“Daesung,” Jiyong says, when his face stops twitching, “play it back. I want to watch what just happened.”  
  
Jaejoong doesn’t look, keeping his face pointed to the ground and is hyper aware of Seunghyun doing the same thing. He knows the moment Jiyong sees the fleet freeze because he hears the surprised intake of breath and feels Jiyong’s body react: his blood pumps fast, his adrenaline rushes, his teeth are ground. There’s a few moments of silence before Jiyong asks quietly, “Do you know what I was doing a few moments ago? I was sleeping. I was actually  _sleeping._  I haven’t been able to sleep in days because Heechul keeps getting to the Scientist Dust before I do and it’s become increasingly difficult to meet my quota of Dust every week. Dust that people need to get from me so that they can  _survive_.s”  
  
Silence isn’t the word Jaejoong would use to describe what happens next, because the computers are whirring and Daesung’s comm board is beeping, and the filtered air is blowing out of ducts just behind Seunghyun’s head. But because no one talks it seems exceedingly quiet.  
  
“I am going to go back to bed and you,” Jiyong points as Seunghyun, “are not welcome to follow because I can tell that you know something. So the two of you talk and decide what you need to do to appease me. I expect to have answers and something expensive by the end of the day. Is that clear?”  
  
Jaejoong nods.  
  
“Daesung, get us the hell out of here as soon as possible.” Jiyong whirls on his feet and marches out. If he could have slammed the door, Jaejoong knows, Jiyong would have.  
  
Seunghyun nudges at Jaejoong’s shoulder and it’s an order to follow him out. Jaejoong gets to his feet, hoping his face isn’t revealing the tension he’s feeling, barely registering Daesung reaching over to switch on autopilot.  
  
“I’m not ready for this conversation,” Jaejoong says, as soon as they’ve entered Seunghyun’s quarters, the door sliding shut behind them and locking with an ominous click.  
  
“Then why did you run off to save Heechul?”  
  
“I didn’t. I saved  _Hyunjoong_.”  
  
“I don’t care who you saved. Your cover is blown, Jaejoong. And we’re both in serious amounts of trouble.”  
  
Warning bells sound for a wormhole and Jaejoong sits down just in time, closing his eyes and grabbing ahold of a bed post as the ship whirls away from the Scientist fleet and moments later, drops out of the ‘Hole. One look out the window and Jaejoong knows they’re back at their hideout in Saturn’s rings. He hopes no one followed them.  
  
“I’m going to be kidnapped. Or murdered. Jiyong is going to use me.”  
  
“I agree with the first two,” Seunghyun nods, “but you know Jiyong better than that. He’ll want to  _make_  use of you, but I don’t think he’ll try and control you or make you do things you don’t want to do. Besides which, I think it’s Boa you have to worry about. I’m the one that needs to deal with Jiyong.”  
  
“We need to talk with Hyunjoong,” Jaejoong says, “We need a plan.”  
  
Seunghyun moves to his closet, digging in it for a moment before emerging with a communicator Hyunjoong had built for them with its own secret wavelengths and encryptions. It only takes a moment to connect.  
  
“I thought that might’ve been you,” Hyunjoong says, as soon as his face pops up, “I’ve been waiting for you to call.”  
  
“We need to meet,” Jaejoong says.  
  
“I’m with Yoochun. Heechul sent us out to deliver that Dust almost as soon as we got to Io. He doesn’t want to lose any of it.”  
  
“Bring Yoochun, then,” Seunghyun suggests, “You trust him, right? There’s two of us so it’s only fair that there’s two of you.”  
  
“I trust him,” Hyunjoong says warily, “but he isn’t going to like this. We need to be sure.”  
  
“We need a plan and another person will be helpful. If we don’t come up with something fast, Jaejoong’s dead, or worse, put in the hands of the Scientists in which case everyone’s dead.”  
  
“I’ve pretty much just announced my existence to the galaxy anyway,” Jaejoong shrugs. As if anyone can overlook someone halting an entire fleet.  
  
“If we’re lucky, we don’t even have to tell Yoochun about your super potent Dust. At least not until we’re sure he’ll keep his mouth shut.” Seunghyun lays a hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder. “We have a few hours before Jiyong comes to kill us. Where do you want to meet?”  
  
They agree to a spot close to the hideout, and Seunghyun drags Jaejoong out the door almost as soon as the connection is cut. They settle easily into Seunghyun’s fighter, and Jaejoong starts his pre-flight check. It doesn’t take long, and he’s soon ready to go, his hand tapping on his console as he waits for final permission. That takes longer than usual, and just as he looks up to give the hangar bay coordinator a dirty look, he sees Seungri, the weapons expert, watching them, his face solemn. Jaejoong is not surprised, and he sighs. “Seungri’s watching,” he says.  
  
Seunghyun snorts. “Of course Seungri’s watching. As soon as we’re gone, he’s going to go and report everything to Jiyong, the little dipshit.”  
  
Point Seunghyun, Jaejoong knows, and doesn’t look back at Seungri until they’re gliding away. Seungri waves a hand at him and the smirk crossing his features makes Jaejoong want to punch something. “Slimy bastard,” he mutters, and breaks free of the shield around Jiyong’s ship easily, punching in the coordinates for their drop.  
  
“Know what he said to me the other day?” Seunghyun asks, as Jaejoong’s plots the ‘Hole. “He said, ‘I’m useful to all sorts of very important people.’ Like. What does that even mean?”  
  
Jaejoong shrugs. Seungri is an enigma, and will most likely remain that way.  
  
He waits for an affirmative from Seunghyun before starting the jump.  _I’m dead_ , Jaejoong thinks glumly, and flares the Dust engine with a heavy heart.  
  
—  
  
They dock in one of Heechul’s frigates, spirited away from the other crew members, pretending to be buyers for the Dust Heechul had just stolen away. Hyunjoong greets them warmly, throwing an arm around Jaejoong’s shoulders. “How are you feeling?”  
  
“Fine,” Jaejoong says breezily, “You can stop asking every time you see me.”  
  
“It’s habit,” Hyunjoong shrugs, and sneaks them up to his quarters. In the three years he had known Hyunjoong, Jaejoong had never been on any of his faction’s ships, let alone Yoochun’s personal one. In fact, Jaejoong had only seen Yoochun once, when they had both happened to be incognito at a reception to celebrate Yunho’s second term in the Scientist office. For obvious reasons they hadn’t spoken or acknowledged one another’s presence.  
  
“Your ships are as shitty as ours,” Jaejoong observes, as Hyunjoong ushers them around a corner.  
  
He laughs once, and Jaejoong takes the following silence as a dismissal of the topic. It’s probably best if he doesn’t talk anyway. He’s heard stories about the people Heechul keeps on his ship, and he doesn’t really want to be caught by any of them.  
  
“Yoochun thinks you’re buyers, so he might be a little antagonistic at first.”  
  
It turns out to be an understatement. As soon as Yoochun sees Seunghyun, a well known figure in the Runner circles, there’s a gun pointed directly in their faces.  
  
A whimper from behind Yoochun catches Jaejoong’s attention, and one very surprised glance later, Jaejoong can make out a girl, no more than five or six, clutching Yoochun’s waist and looking positively petrified.  
  
“The hell is this?” Yoochun says, “Hyunjoong, I thought you said we were meeting some buyers. I called  _Yoobin_  up, I didn’t think—“  
  
“Put the gun down.”  
  
“ _Hyunjoong_ ,” Yoochun hisses.  
  
He seems torn.  
  
Jaejoong stands perfectly still, watching as the gun wavers a little, and then lowers, though Yoochun does not put it down completely. He glares.  
  
“I didn’t think you’d have Yoobin,” Hyunjoong says softly.  
  
Yoochun’s jaw twitches and Jaejoong flicks his gaze down to the little girl. She shares a striking resemblance with Yoochun, and Jaejoong suspects they must be father and daughter, even if that conclusion means Boa’s intelligence is worthless: Yoochun’s I-blast-anything-that-pisses-me-off image in the Duster circles is anything but fatherly, and this is a surprising turn of events. Jaejoong’s a little mad at Hyunjoong for keeping secrets, even if they are on different sides.  
  
“Yoobin can crack our spines if we hurt either of you,” Hyunjoong says, “Can’t you, Yoobin?”  
  
She nods.  
  
When Dust had first been discovered to cause certain abilities, only the rich had been exposed to it. Exorbitant amounts of money were spent on parents sending in their children to be enveloped in Dust to see if it would react to them and produce favorable results. But when Dust became a standard of living, everyone was exposed to it and Dusters started cropping up outside institutions.  
  
Now it’s fairly common for children with Duster parents to exhibit early signs of abilities—especially those with parents prone to allergies. Because an allergy to Dust and thus a  _reaction_  to it causes the mutation, people have been known to purposefully ingest Dust to the point that their body can’t process it and thus force powers on their children, though Jaejoong knows for sure,  _already_ , that Yoochun wouldn’t have done that to his daughter.  
  
“Move away from the door,” Yoochun says.  
  
Jaejoong follows Seunghyun’s lead, making way for the girl to exit, and he sees Yoochun give her a kiss on the cheek before she runs out, sliding the door shut behind her. Clearly, Yoochun trusts everyone on this ship enough to send her off on her own without any worries.  
  
“Now tell me what the fuck is going on.”  
  
The gun is back to pointing at Jaejoong’s forehead.  
  
“Put it down, Yoochun, you can trust them.”  
  
“Actually, I don’t know that I can. I don’t know them. I thought I knew you.”  
  
Jaejoong has a million and one things he could say to allay Yoochun’s fears, but he’s sure they will fall on deaf ears. He’s not Yoochun’s friend, he’s not even Yoochun’s acquaintance: he’s Yoochun’s enemy and at the moment and the only person who can convince Yoochun otherwise is Hyunjoong.  
  
“Okay,” Hyunjoong soothes, “keep the gun pointed at us if you want. Just listen before you shoot. Please.”  
  
Yoochun’s jaw twitches, but he keeps silent. Apparently he trusts Hyunjoong enough to do as he says, at least for now, something for which Jaejoong is exceedingly thankful.  
  
Hyunjoong starts to talk.  
  
The story that Seunghyun had spread when he had returned with Jaejoong is that he had fought with Hyunjoong over a small pocket of Dust. Because Jaejoong had been in need of medical attention, they had split the Dust and Seunghyun had taken Jaejoong with him. Part of that is true, at least. “We knew of his ability though,” Hyunjoong corrects now, “And the three of us agreed to keep Jaejoong’s abilities a secret until—well, until whenever. Until now.”  
  
“Why are you telling me?”  
  
“Because it’s only fair,” Hyunjoong interjects, “Jaejoong stayed with Seunghyun, which put me at a disadvantage. Now there’s two people from Heechul’s faction that know and two from Boa’s. Unless you don’t want in.”  
  
“In on what?” Yoochun asks, and the gun wavers again.  
  
Hyunjoong and Seunghyun share a look and Jaejoong gets a funny feeling that he’s been left out of a couple of very important conversations. “You’ve been talking without me,” he accuses, and wonders if maybe he should just ally himself with Yoochun. He feels a bit like a deactivated Dust droid.  
  
“We need you safe. So we thought instead of telling everyone that you’re the brain Duster, we’ll tell them that it’s Hyunjoong. No one can actually prove that you’re the brain Duster, other than the people here. Besides which, he’s a nervous system Duster, so he can pretend that he was hiding most of his ability. And you can continue to pretend that Dust doesn’t affect you at all, and you stay safe.”  
  
Jaejoong gapes.  
  
“We have to do it this way,” Seunghyun continues, “If we can get the both of you on the same ship, preferably Jiyong’s, than you can act as Hyunjoong’s bodyguard and you can be close to each other all the time and hold up the ruse perfectly.”  
  
“I don’t want that,” Jaejoong starts, “I don’t want anyone doing anything for me.”  _I don’t want anyone dying for me_ , he thinks,  _especially not Hyunjoong or anyone else here_. “It’s too dangerous.”  
  
“Assuming you asked me here for a second opinion,” Yoochun has thankfully lowered his gun, though it’s still in his hand, "they’re right. You need to be protected, especially right now.”  
  
“See?” Seunghyun prods, “Protection is the most important thing. But we didn’t just call you for a second opinion. Like I said, I want us all on even footing as we move forward. It will make the next few weeks a lot easier on all of us.”  
  
“Then why did you pick me and not Jiyong?”  
  
“You have a child,” Hyunjoong answers immediately, “You’re not going to do anything stupid that will get you killed. Jiyong will forgive Seunghyun, and when the time comes he’ll understand. You’re the best choice out of everyone. And in case I get killed, I’m not leaving Jaejoong completely to Heechul.”  
  
“I don’t think Heechul would leave Jaejoong to Heechul,” Seunghyun says.  
  
They all chuckle, and Yoochun finally sets his gun down. Jaejoong is so relieved he almost falls over as his adrenaline leaves his body in a rush.  
  
“Look, you’re a fresh mind,” Hyunjoong continues, “And we need someone to be objective while we map out exactly what we’re going to say. We need a solid story to pull this off, and if we want to protect Jaejoong, we need as many people as we can et. Heechul cannot ward off the Scientist fleet on his own, but if we have his combined ships with Boa’s, plus all of our Dusters, we might actually have a chance.”  
  
There’s a significant pause in which both Jaejoong and Yoochun digest this information. “You  _have_  been talking without me,” Jaejoong breathes, feeling a little betrayed.  
  
“You want an  _alliance_ ,” Yoochun says right after, sounding flabbergasted. “Are you crazy? They don’t do alliances. They work for no one but themselves.”  
  
“They’ll work with each other if it means keeping Jaejoong out of the Scientist’s hands,” Seunghyun says confidently. “Because if Yunho gets Jaejoong that’s the end for us. We’re all dead, and all the Dust you give to families and the Dust we give to entrepreneurs will stay with the Scientists and get used for other things. And that means all the people we support will most likely die, and no one wants that.”  
  
“But an  _alliance_ ,” Yoochun presses.  
  
“We’ll just ask,” Seunghyun says. “We’ll just see if he wants to talk to her.”  
  
“And if Heechul says no and shoots both Hyunjoong and I in the face?”  
  
“Well, just one of you go then,” Seunghyun grins. “If I have to face Jiyong and tell him, you can face Heechul.”  
  
“Jiyong won’t shoot you,” Yoochun points out.  
  
“I’m not too sure about that,” Seunghyun says, and he sounds sincere. “Look, if they don’t agree, then we disappear and nobody gets Jaejoong. I love Jiyong, but this is for the betterment of mankind, and I’m willing to leave him behind if it’s the right thing to do, as painful for me as that may be.”  
  
Jaejoong finally sits back, realizing he isn’t going to get to say much, and finding that he’s actually okay with that. He agrees with Seunghyun anyhow—he usually does. Seunghyun had long since proven that he cares about  _Jaejoong_  and not about sides. They trust one another, and he isn’t going to go against Seunghyun now.  
  
“Fine,” Yoochun says, “I agree, but on a few conditions. As you said, I’m a father, and I need you to recognize that were it to come down to saving Jaejoong or saving my daughter, I would pick my daughter.”  
  
“Of course,” Hyunjoong waves a hand as if this is obvious.  
  
“If they don’t agree to meet, and you disappear, you take Yoobin and I with you.”  
  
“Agreed,” Seunghyun nods.  
  
“And you tell me everything. If I’m helping you, then I’m helping you. No secrets.”  
  
Jaejoong exchanges a look with Hyunjoong, then Seunghyun, and Yoochun throws up his hands in despair. “I knew it. I knew there was something else you weren’t telling me. You want me to be a partner in this, or whatever, you have to tell me everything. I don’t do halfsies or small parts or even ninety-nine percent. You tell me everything or  _I_  tell everything, that’s the deal.”  
  
It makes Jaejoong grind his teeth, because he hates being threatened, but he keeps his mouth shut because it’s only fair. “We’ll tell you everything,” Seunghyun agrees, “But later. We have to go, or Jiyong will kill us both; we’ll meet again soon to secure a meeting with Heechul and Boa.”  
  
“I think we should have our liaisons do that,” Hyunjoong says, “I know it will make Heechul more comfortable.”  
  
“I am her liaision,” Seunghyun points out.  
  
“Jiyong is,” Jaejoong corrects, “And he is comfortable with exchanging information with Donghae, so I think that’s who should meet to arrange a time and place.”  
  
Seunghyun gets up and Jaejoong follows him, getting chills as he stands in the flow of air from Seunghyun’s circulator. Yoochun doesn’t shake their hands, or even incline his head, but he does smile as they leave and Jaejoong thinks it’ll be alright.  
  
“It’ll be alright,” he says aloud, when they’re back in their ship after being escorted around security by Hyunjoong.  
  
“The real question,” Seunghyun mutters, as he buckles himself in, “Is will we be?”  
  
“Jiyong’s not going to shoot you.”  
  
“Doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be mad.”  
  
—  
  
Jiyong’s waiting for them when they pop the hatch, leaning against a hangar bay door with his arms crossed. His face is expressionless. “So,” he says, “Where did you go?”  
  
There’s a pause, in which Jaejoong thinks  _this is it_ , before Seunghyun steps forward and says in an equally soft voice, “We went to speak with Hyunjoong.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

  
  
  
Jiyong’s eyes narrow, flitting back and forth between Seunghyun and Jaejoong, not saying a word as they shuffle their feet awkwardly. He finally pushes off the wall and beckons to them. Their footsteps seem extraordinarily loud as they walk towards Jiyong’s quarters, as does the door to his chambers as it slides open and shut. Jiyong rounds on both of them.  
  
“I hope,” he begins, “You have an excellent reason for lying to me. Because right now, I’m nanoseconds away from tossing both of you into the brig for a very long period of time.”  
  
“We weren’t intending anything malicious by it,” Jaejoong starts.  
  
“You be quiet,” Jiyong points, “I don’t want to hear you talk just yet. The fact that you know whatever secret this is and I don’t really pisses me off.”  
  
Seunghyun changes the tale as they had agreed, saying that Hyunjoong is the brain Duster, and while never wanting to reveal his abilities, had to do so those three years ago in order to save Jaejoong, whose condition had been critical. “I took Jaejoong once he stabilized and we both agreed to not say anything about Hyunjoong’s ability. At least, not yet.”  
  
“If his ability it so great, then why did we need to pop in and watch?” Jiyong asks.  
  
“Hyunjoong was the one that sent the message,” Jaejoong says, “I was going to try and help because he didn’t want to reveal himself, but we didn’t get there in time and he took matters into his own hands.”  
  
“I told you to be quiet,” Jiyong hisses. He looks back to Seunghyun, the betrayal and hurt evident in his eyes, and Jaejoong wonders if maybe this is a conversation best held between Jiyong and Seunghyun. He hates being a third wheel in anything. “Who else knows?”  
  
Seunghyun lowers his gaze. “We’ve only explained this to Yoochun, but he and Hyunjoong are no doubt breaking the news to Heechul and the rest of his crew.”  
  
“So his whole faction of Runners knows,” Jiyong ticks off, “We all now know, or will, and the Scientists have undoubtedly figured out that one of us is a brain Duster. Which leaves me with a mess. I sincerely hope you have thought through a decent plan.”  
  
“We have,” Seunghyun nods.  
  
Jaejoong has to swallow the butterflies that are flying formations in his stomach.  
  
“No one wants Hyunjoong killed or captured. Heechul is an amazing captain, as are you, and Boa makes both of you look like five year old kids when she’s in charge, but we aren’t strong enough on our own, especially not if we have to face the entire Scientist fleet by ourselves.”  
  
Jiyong’s eyes narrow again, and Jaejoong feels himself break out into a cold sweat. It’s a moment of truth.  
  
“What the  _hell_  are you suggesting?”  
  
—  
  
Yoochun’s pretty sure he’s going to die. At first, he’d been sort of excited at the prospect of an alliance, but as Heechul gapes at him from across the table, Yoochun has a funny feeling he will soon asphyxiate, courtesy of Heechul’s Dust.  
  
“Heechul,” Yoochun entreats, “Just think about it for a second.”  
  
“I don’t  _need_  a second,” Heechul says, and Yoochun can almost feel the pressure of Heechul’s power in his throat and lungs. Sweat starts to bead on his forehead.  
  
“Heechul, we are not strong enough to protect Hyunjoong on our own. We just can’t, I know you know that. The only logical solution to keeping him safe is forming an alliance. At least temporarily. We don’t have a choice.”  
  
“Yoochun, I don’t work with other people.”  
  
“I’m not asking you to do that. I’m not saying we should share our business or anything even remotely similar. Hyunjoong needs all the protection we can give him.”  
  
“So what, you want them to send us a few men?”  
  
“Men, ships, ammunition, maybe even a little Dust. We cannot do this on our own.”  
  
He watches Heechul deliberate, chewing his lip, before nailing Yoochun with a look that sends shivers down his spine. “As much as I hate your idea, I don’t want anyone else having him. I’ll make an effort, but I am not relinquishing control over anything. Even if we manage to agree on terms of an allegiance, none of them will be me signing over any part of my business to that money grubbing excuse for a captain.”  
  
“I’m sure we can find a way to run business as usual and share the responsibility of protecting Hyunjoong,” Yoochun assures him, immeasurably relieved. He needs a handkerchief to wipe his brow.  
  
“We’ll see.”  
  
“Thank you,” Yoochun says earnestly, leaning across the table.  
  
Heechul snorts, obviously displeased, “If this blows up, it’ll be your head. I’ve only not killed you yet because you have a kid and I don’t want to be responsible for her.”  
  
“I know. Why do you think they sent me to talk with you?”  
  
Heechul’s face contorts and for a second, as his fist lashes out at an inhuman speed, Yoochun thinks he should have just kept his stupid mouth shut.  
  
—  
  
“You should have kept your mouth shut.”  
  
Heechul’s medical officer is spreading something gooey on Yoochun’s cheek. It stings at first, but then goes numb, and Yoochun closes his eyes in relief. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than an aching jaw, especially when he’s trying to have a conversation.  
  
“Small miscalculation,” He shrugs.  
  
“He almost fractured your cheek bone.”  
  
Yoochun cracks open his good eye. “Sungmin, just treat it.”  
  
Sungmin sighs. “I’m not going to ask him about it, Yoochun. I’m not leaving this deck for awhile, just in case Jungmo is out doing something. It’s too risky for me. So you should just tell me what this is all about.”  
  
Yoochun does, mostly because he knows Heechul won’t mind. Jungmo is reason enough for most people to stay six feet away, and while they will do just that, Sungmin is particularly susceptible to Jungmo and his hormone Dust, and unless Sungmin feels like randomly molesting the nearest warm body, he usually has little to no contact with Jungmo at all. Which is sad, because they used to be very good friends. Or are good friends, just ones that never see each other any more.  
  
“One more ally means one less enemy means one less battle,” Sungmin beams, “And that means fewer injuries, which pleases me. I’m a lazy ass medical officer.”  
  
“I thought you might like it,” Yoochun smiles, “How have you been feeling lately?”  
  
“I should be asking you that,” Sungmin returns easily, “But since you got to it first, I accidentally bumped into Jungmo in the hallway today. So not so great.”  
  
Yoochun stops Sungmin’s hand and holds it, looking him seriously in the eye. “Sungmin.”  
  
“It’s nothing new and certainly nothing worth talking about. It was a mess and I still haven’t fully recovered. Let’s talk about you and your bruise, please.”  
  
“ _Sungmin_ ,” Yoochun presses.  
  
“Just drop it.”  
  
The humming of Sungmin’s medical monitors is the only sound for awhile as Yoochun stares at the floor and Sungmin continues to work on Yoochun’s face. It’s a good ten minutes before he sighs satisfactorily and puts down his instruments. “There. I’ve gotten most of the swelling down. It should be fine by tomorrow.”  
  
“You’re a miracle worker.”  
  
“Better go see Hyunjoong,” Sungmin smiles, “He looked ready to pull out a machine gun when he brought you here. Hopefully he hasn’t killed anyone important.”  
  
Hyunjoong’s with Yoobin when Yoochun finally finds them, and the nervous system Duster grips Yoochun’s arms so tight Yoochun is afraid he’ll break a bone. “It’s just a bruise.”  
  
He picks Yoobin up, holding balancing on his hip, making sure the bruised side of his face is the one she can’t see. “Sorry I was gone for so long, sweetie.”  
  
She isn’t one for long sentences unless it’s just the two of them, so he knows he’s been forgiven when she clutches him tight and rests her head on his shoulder, promptly falling asleep. Clearly, he needs to find a babysitter with a better understanding of nap time.  
  
Hyunjoong pulls him to the bed. He takes out a safe from a compartment and a container of the most potent Dust Yoochun’s ever seen. Swirling white, it looks as though it could power a hovercraft all by itself. He almost keels over from the shock of it.  
  
“What—is this Dust?”  
  
“This is the Dust Seunghyun and I found Jaejoong floating in three years ago,” Hyunjoong tells him, and lets Yoochun grab the container with a free hand and hold it up to the light. “This is the other end of the equation, and if you cannot keep it secret, at least for the time being, I will—” Hyunjoong glances down at Yoobin, “Bad things will happen,” he finishes discreetly.  
  
 _I will be killed_ , Yoochun surmises in his head,  _irregardless of my daughter_ , and he nods to show that he understands. They’ll have to work on their so called friendship.  
  
“How much of this is there?”  
  
“A lot,” Hyunjoong admits, “Yoochun, this Dust could keep the galaxy going for another century at least. Certainly until we find a new source or a way to manufacture it ourselves.”  
  
“So why haven’t we taken it yet?”  
  
“It’s Jaejoong’s,” Hyunjoong says simply. “And he doesn’t quite know what to do with it.”  
  
“What do you mean he doesn’t know what to do with it?”  
  
“Yoochun.”  
  
Hyunjoong’s voice is low in warning, and Yoochun takes a deep breath to get himself under control. “I get it,” he says, “I get that I’m the newbie. I get that everything revolves around Jaejoong. But this is…this is  _huge_. I won’t interfere, but I don’t understand it.”  
  
“At least be open to trying. And keep your mouth shut.”  
  
“I’m not going to say anything,” Yoochun reassures, “We need to get through this alliance or whatever you want to call it, but then I want to talk about it. At great length.”  
  
“We will,” Hyunjoong promises, before opening the canister of Dust and carefully applying some of it to Yoochun’s bruise. It hurt less, the nerves repairing because of Hyunjoong’s ability. “We will,” he says again, and Yoochun holds Yoobin just a little tighter.  
  
—  
  
Yunho is furious.  
  
Honestly, it’s not as though he’s  _against_  giving everyone Dust, it’s just that he can’t. His resources are spread for too thin and as the number of colonies exponentially grows, it gets harder every day. Runners acting like Robin Hood’s Band of Merry Men doesn’t help at all, and as Dust depletes at a rapid rate, Yunho worries increasingly about civilization’s ability to survive. They desperately need to win this war, and get the Runners under control.  
  
Except now they have a brain Duster that rendered a significant portion of Yunho’s fleet completely useless and allowed a ship carrying an influential Runner leader to escape.  
  
And that really pisses Yunho off.  
  
“Are we sure that it’s a brain Duster?”  
  
Yunho has to stop himself from being an angry tyrant; he’s tempted to twist and pull Siwon’s muscles and the only thing preventing him is knowing that Siwon would break all of Yunho’s bones in retaliation. That and his PR branch would murder him. Figuratively, of course, but it wouldn’t necessary feel that way. “There isn’t any other explanation. I could tell it was my  _brain_  being controlled, not the different parts of my body all at once.”  
  
Honestly, it had been some of the scariest few seconds of Yunho’s life. He has to be in control, and those moments of floundering have left him petrified.  
  
“I do not ever,” he says, shaking the memories away, “ _Ever_ , want this to happen again. I want a plan drawn up to deal with it. Yesterday.”  
  
To his left, sitting apart from his inner council, is Sunyoung, and Yunho can hear her furiously typing out everything he’s saying. He feels a small rush of affection for her and her ridiculously pregnant state. He could have found someone else to take notes, but she had insisted and cemented in his mind why she is his favorite secretary ever: she’s dedicated to him and in love with someone else. It’s an excellent combination as far he’s concerned. Far too many people profess to love him that actually do not.  
  
“We don’t know what he’s capable of doing,” Siwon says, shifting enough in his chair so that it squeaks. “Besides what we’ve seen. Is that his limit? Could he fend off our entire fleet?” At Sunyoung’s very subtle cough, Siwon amends, “Or she.”  
  
“I have no desire to test that. We need to know who this person is, and then we need to figure out a way to convince that person to be on our side.” He can almost see the headline now:  _Brain Duster Found! End of War Imminent!_  
  
“You make it sound easy and I don’t think it’s going to be.”  
  
Yunho flicks his gaze across the table, resting it on Zhou Mi and observing him for a moment before saying, “I’m trying to not be discouraged.”  
  
Zhou Mi remains still. He had proven himself a capable leader since Kyuhyun had picked him up in the middle of space. He had been abandoned by someone—Yunho suspects Runners, or maybe the Pirates out by Uranus—but it doesn’t mean he can’t find Zhou Mi strange, smile and all.  
  
“Look,” Yunho leans forward, folding his hand and setting them on the conference table, “Honestly this is shitty, honestly we’re fucked, honestly we don’t have a very good chance of doing anything right in the next couple months. But Heechul’s organization isn’t very big, and even if it does take us a couple weeks or a couple months, I believe that we can concoct something that will work.”  
  
“To do what?” Zhou Mi presses, “Kill the Duster? Kidnap him? I don’t think he’ll take to either option very well.”  
  
“I’m open to  _any_  options, any suggestions, no matter how stupid. I just want this fixed. The first good idea to land in front of me is the one I’m going to go with, so work fast. I want this resolved.”  
  
Yunho turns his gaze to Kyuhyun as Zhou Mi sits back. “I need an updated list of all the Runners who are Dusters and I want plans to deal with them. By tonight. I don’t care what you have to do to get it.” He should have done it years ago instead of waiting until they were such a problem.  
  
“Absolutely,” Kyuhyun nods, already jotting it down on a datapad.  
  
“And send it out to all commanding officers. I want all of you to double check your Dust stores and have new rotating passwords and encryptions set. We cannot afford to lose another speck of Dust. Have I made myself clear?”  
  
He receives affirmative answers from his staff. “Kyuhyun, a private word with you after this.” He dismisses them with a wave of a his hand. They’re all very quick to leave save for Jinki, who lingers by Sunyoung, hovering anxiously as she gathers her things. “Tell her she needs to stop,” He says, when he notices Yunho watching them.  
  
“I’ve tried,” Yunho shrugs, “Your fiancé is stubborn.”  
  
“I’m  _fine_ ,” Sunyoung says, slipping her datapad into a bag.  
  
“The baby’s  _late_ ,” Jinki squeaks, “You should be resting and putting your feet up and—“  
  
“Only by a day. If you want to do something useful,” Sunyoung huffs, “You can carry my bag, alright?” Jinki grabs it lightening fast and swings it over his shoulder. “I’ll send out the minutes tonight,” she tells Yunho, while simultaneously latching onto Jinki’s hand.  
  
He sends them off with a smile and then turns to Kyuhyun, the only one who hadn’t risen from his seat. He’s tapping his fingers on the tabletop, regarding Yunho curiously.  
  
“We need that Dust back,” Yunho says.  
  
Kyuhyun’s hands stop moving. “You want me to go get it?”  
  
“I’m not sure,” Yunho admits, “We clearly will not win a frontal assault, so I was thinking of something a little bit more subtle. I want you to set up a fake business, something Heechul would consider in need of Dust.”  
  
“You want,” Kyuhyun stumbles on his words, “You want them to give us the Dust back?”  
  
“At a much slower rate obviously, but if this one works than we’ll set up a second and a third, and maybe we can do the same with Boa.”  
  
The two of them never talk, Yunho knows. Heechul gives Dust to struggling businesses and underground black markets while Boa gives the Dust she steals to families and orphanages, which is how the two Runner factions usually never step on each others toes but still manage to hate one another.  
  
“Even if it’s just a fraction of what they steal from us, at least we’re getting something back. Plus, I like the idea of tricking them. It pleases me.”  
  
Kyuhyun is grinning, “Me too. I’ll have something drawn up for you tonight.”  
  
“No, give it to someone else. I’d rather have you working on a way to subdue that brain Duster.”  
  
Kyuhyun nods, “Fine. Maybe I’ll have that new comm officer look into it. He’s got a good brain.”  
  
“If you can spare him,” Yunho agrees, “I’d like to meet this brilliant comm officer some day.”  
  
“If he comes up with a good plan, you will.”  
  
They pause as Kyuhyun’s comm goes off and Yunho’s surprised to note it’s flashing emergency alarms at both of them. Kyuhyun’s grin disappears and an image of Minho pops up out of the communicator, Dust swirling up into the features of his face. “What’s going on?”  
  
“I intercepted something,” Minho says, and he looks positively terrified, “A transmission. You should come and see it. You should also bring Yunho.”  
  
Yunho internally bristles at the informal attitude, but Minho looks so scared, The Scientist decides to let it slide. “Well,” he says, after Minho disconnects, “I guess I’ll be meeting that comm officer sooner than expected.”  
  
“I guess so,” Kyuhyun shoves to his feet and they leave together, staying silent as they speed walk down the corridors and to the hangar bay where the  _Seersha_  is being serviced and refueled.  
  
Minho is waiting for them on the ramp to the ship, Changmin and the comm officer pacing anxiously behind them, Changmin looking ready to tear into the nearest body and make it bleed.  
  
“What is going on?” Yunho asks, his apprehension levels rising considerably.  
  
“Not here,” Minho says, and Yunho can do nothing but follow Minho to his rooms where the pilot has set up a communications system he had designed himself. It’s one of the things Yunho loves about Kyuhyun and his crew: they can do everything. Literally everything.  
  
Minho had actually started his career as a comm officer, and after Yunho had caught him cracking encryptions on top secret documents for fun, had sent him to Kyuhyun instead of jail, who had in turn discovered Minho’s incredible knack for flying. So now he does both, and as Yunho runs his eyes over the set up in Minho’s room, he wonders what Minho hacked that has him so worried.  
  
Once and awhile, Minho hits something big. They’ve caught a few runners because of him, even if it’s no one Yunho would consider particularly dangerous. Though it looks like that’s about to change.  _Runner Faction Busted!_  Yunho sees in his mind’s eye, and hopes that it’s a premonition.  
  
“I snagged the message a few minutes ago. It’s barely encrypted and only took a few seconds to decode. It’s actually an audio file, and I wish I knew who they were sending it to, but I don’t. I couldn’t find a recipient tag anywhere.”  
  
Yunho crosses his arms. And then forgets how to breathe.  
  
He recognizes both voices. One is Jiyong, Boa’s vicious sub captain and genius ship designer that makes any and all important deals in her stead. The other voice Yunho recognizes as Donghae’s, a childhood friend of his whose father had been killed by Scientists when they were just boys. Yunho had hoped to change the Scientist rule because of that; Donghae had chosen to abandon it completely.  
  
“They’re talking to each other?” Kyuhyun’s voice startles Yunho and he jumps.  
  
“Worse,” Minho says grimly, “They’re meeting. Here on Earth. In  _Seoul_.”  
  
For a moment there’s silence and Yunho’s ears ring with it. Then he swears, so violently and loudly, the comm officer he has yet to formally meet actually backs into Kyuhyun in surprise and they land on the floor in a tangle of limbs.  
  
It’s honestly Yunho’s worst nightmare and he can feel himself start to sweat involuntarily. “This cannot happen,” he says. “I don’t know what they’re going to discuss, but I don’t care, not even if they’re going to shoot each other to death. They cannot be in the same room.  _I will not allow this to happen._ ”  
  
It can’t. If they join forces or agree to share Dust or even just decide to not hate each other anymore, it cannot happen. There’s a precarious balance of power between the three of them (Yunho, Boa, and Heechul,) and anything disrupting it is not good. Not good at all.

 

\--

 

  
  
It happens before Heechul can shout a warning. In retrospect, he should have foreseen it, but he had been so wrapped up in receiving Boa’s request for a meeting and sending Donghae off to parley with Jiyong, Heechul hadn’t thought of it. So here he is, watching in complete frustration as his communications officer strolls onto the bridge, not realizing that Jungmo is standing directly in front of him until it’s too late.  
  
Jungmo lets out a surprised yell just as Sungmin freezes and then turns, trying to make a quick exit. Heechul can hear Jungmo swearing as he throws himself against a bulkhead as far away from Sungmin as he can, trying to pull his hormonal Dust in on himself, but the damage is done.  
  
Sungmin latches his lips onto the nearest warm body, which happens to be Yoochun, and sucks his face off. They tumble onto the floor, Sungmin settling comfortably onto Yoochun’s body, his fingers sliding into Yoochun’s hair, and his hand to hand combat expertise preventing Yoochun from getting up.  
  
“Oh god,” Heechul says, turning to his commanding officer, “Geunsuk, get him out of here. Shit. Sungmin,  _you should have commed_. I can’t deal with this right now.”  
  
It takes Geunsuk a few moments to pry Sungmin away and haul him off the bridge, keeping him in a headlock as Sungmin tries to wiggle away. Yoochun actually looks amused as he wipes his mouth discreetly. Jungmo looks positively mortified.  
  
“I need an alarm on him,” Heechul says, turning to Jungmo, “Or you. Both of you. Something that starts to beep when you’re near each other.”  
  
“It’s my fault,” Jungmo says, shaking his head, “I told him I was in the hangar bay, but then you called me up here and I forgot to correct myself. We’ll work a system out.”  
  
“You’ve been saying that for years,” Heechul points out, “Yet all that’s happened is Sungmin kissing people and Sungmin touching everyone and Sungmin—“  
  
“Okay,” Yoochun soothes, “It’s fine. We’re all used to it and we all understand his situation. It’s not his fault and neither is it Jungmo’s. Everyone just calm down. We need to be thankful that hormones are the only problem. It could be so much worse. He could start bleeding internally, or something.”  
  
Heechul grinds his teeth. “Stop being sensible; it doesn’t suit you unless Yoobin is here.”  
  
Yoochun only smile. He slides into the pilot’s chair to replace some backwater idiot Heechul picked up a few weeks ago. “Yah,” Heechul tells the kid, “Go make sure Sungmin’s not making out with my commanding officer.”  
  
The kid pales, but nods, dashing off. Heechul huffs irritably, his mood darkening even more as Hyunjoong goes to sit by Yoochun instead of his usual spot by Junhyung, Heechul’s substitute officer for either Jungmo or Sungmin—whichever one is not on the bridge. And speaking of which, Heechul sighs, turning a little, “Junhyung, I lied. Let Jungmo have weapons as usual, since he’s here. It’ll take Sungmin awhile to recover anyway.”  
  
It’s another few minutes of awkward shuffling in which everyone is thinking about Sungmin and his problems but not actually voicing it aloud, before Junhyung announces that Donghae’s back, and Heechul flies off the bridge, running down to the hangar bay just as Donghae’s fighter is being pulled from from the depressurized landing platform. Heechul grabs ahold of him as soon as his feet touch the floor. “I’m  _fine_ ,” Donghae says, pushing away Heechul’s hands and unzipping his flight suit, tossing it at the first deck hand he sees.  
  
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Heechul growls, “You’re not getting out of this so easy. I’ll need a full debrief.”  
  
Donghae rolls his neck, nodding absentmindedly, and starts to fill Heechul in on the details. Jiyong is as sneaky as ever and his pilot is as inhumanly happy as ever and Donghae really did not at all enjoy talking with them. But the meeting is scheduled. 24 hours from now in Seoul. And Jiyong has to bring Donghae some expensive chocolate to make up for being rude. Not that it means the Captain’s actually sorry about it, but Donghae likes to get free things whenever he can.  
  
“In  _Seoul_ ,” Heechul shrieks, “ _Are you insane_? We will never be able to orbit Earth, never mind get into Seoul. Yunho knows every ship we have, there’s no way in hell that will work.”  
  
“It will for that exact reason,” Donghae says, “And I know you have ships we can use. You always have ships, Heechul. The last place they’d expect us to meet is Seoul. It will be easy.”  
  
“Breaking through Earth’s defenses will not be easy.”  
  
“We won’t be breaking,” Donghae says calmly, “We will have a license and a registered ship. I will make sure of that.” Heechul narrows his eyes and Donghae laughs, throwing an arm around Heechul’s neck to pull him close. “When have I ever let you down? Recently, I mean.”  
  
“ _Donghae._ ”  
  
“I’m going to stay with Henry for a bit. Send the specs for a ship to Taemin and I will work out the details. How many times have you had him forge credentials for you? He’s gifted.”  
  
Heechul snorts, but lets Donghae go, watching him grab another flight suit and jump back into his fighter. “Crazy bastard,” Heechul mutters under his breath, and then glares at a deckhand who’s gaping at him. “Back to work,” Heechul snaps, and leaves to find Geunsuk. They have planning to do.  
  
—  
  
When Sungmin comes to, groggy with stars swimming in his vision, Geunsuk is leaning over him looking concerned. Unfortunately, that can only mean one thing and Sungmin groans. “Who was it this time?”  
  
“Yoochun,” Geunsuk admits with a sympathetic frown, “But he’s fine with it, don’t worry. Jungmo says it’s his fault for not telling you where he was. He’s sorry.”  
  
“If I could go near him,” Sungmin threatens, but there’s no malice, his anger having already melted away.  
  
“Someday,” Geunsuk says, and pats Sungmin’s shoulder, “How are you feeling, though? Okay?”  
  
“Relatively.”  
  
As always, there is some lingering sensations running up and down his body, and with Geunsuk so close it’s hard to concentrate, the chemicals in his brain trying to convince him that Geunsuk’s body is warm and soft and would most likely feel amazing if they were skin to skin and—  
  
Sungmin takes a deep breath to clear his head. They are just remnants of Jungmo’s hormonal Dust, mere ghosts of what had been an hour before, and with a little concentration, Sungmin is able to push them away. He sits up, holding onto Geunsuk’s arm until he’s steady and then goes for his med kit. He shoots himself up with hormone stabilizers and relaxes as the last bit of tension in his body leaves him.  
  
“If you’re up for it, Heechul needs another mind. Jungmo will stay in his own room and help via comm. Okay?”  
  
 _Okay,_  Sungmin thinks, and follows Geunsuk out. It’s obvious that the incident has already spread, as he can hear people sniggering under their breath as he passes. His face is burning after only a few meters of corridor, and when Geunsuk glances back at him, his features soften. The next person they pass who laughs aloud, Geunsuk orders to the brig for a day and it makes Sungmin feel better. “Thanks,” he says, and finally smiles.  
  
“Should have them all tossed in there,” Geunsuk mutters, “Idiots.”  
  
As a precaution, Geunsuk pokes his head inside Heechul’s quarters first before letting Sungmin follow him inside. Sungmin gives Heechul a smile in response to his raised eyebrow, and sits down next to him. “I’m fine. Geunsuk even threw someone in the brig for me. It’s already a much better day.”  
  
“You give me a list of everyone that laughed at you and I’ll throw them all in there,” Heechul grins, “There’s always more than one.”  
  
“There is,” Sungmin agrees, “But one is enough. It won’t happen again for awhile. Now what does all this mean?”  
  
Heechul seems disappointed, but he hands Sungmin a few data pads, ready to plot. Sungmin doesn’t have to look at it for more than a few seconds to know that his life is going to end a lot sooner than he thought. “We will never make it past Earth’s defenses, never mind Seoul.”  
  
“I agree, but Taemin’s forged some credentials for us,” Heechul says, “And I have a ship or two no one knows is mine. Donghae assures me that we’ll be able to get past the defenses, so we just need to figure out a way to get down to Seoul.”  
  
The comm beeps and a very sheepish looking Jungmo pops up on a viewer screen built into Heechul’s wall. “Hi,” he says, “Sungmin, I am so sorry.”  
  
“I’m over it,” Sungmin waves a hand, “It’s fine.”  
  
“It’s not fine,” Heechul interjects, “And after we’ve navigated the Seoul Problem, we will be discussing a way to make sure it never happens again. Now. How do we get into Seoul and who do I take with me?”  
  
“Hyunjoong and Yoochun,” Geunsuk says, “Jungmo, I think, and Donghae, since he was the negotiator. Sungmin and I can run things here while you’re gone. If Taemin made those creds good enough, we might be able to get away with Dust porting Jungmo right to the meeting spot, that way he can avoid any crowds. The rest of you can just walk there.”  
  
Sungmin digests this. “That could work,” he agrees, slowly nodding his head, “Taemin just needs to add Porting privileges, which he usually does anyway. So long as they aren’t expecting us, then we’re fine.”  
  
“If they’re expecting us then we’re fucked,” Heechul growls, “They had better not be waiting for us or I will kill people. I will have heads rolling.”  
  
“If you survive,” Geunsuk says, and grabs a pad from the pile on the table. “I’ll go make sure Taemin does this right. Be nice to each other while I’m gone.”  
  
Sungmin actually manages a laugh.  
  
—  
  
Seunghyun finds Jiyong in his captain’s chair, manning the bridge by himself and staring out at the stars, obviously deep in thought. In lieu of words, Seunghyun hands over an expensive brand of alcohol he knows Jiyong can never refuse, and sighs in relief as it’s accepted.  
  
“I hate you right now.”  
  
Jiyong opens the bottle and takes a swig straight from it.  
  
“I know,” Seunghyun says softly, “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Forgiveness is pending,” Jiyong informs him.  
  
Seunghyun sits on the floor, looks up at a very sullen Jiyong. He doesn’t say anything. He latches onto Jiyong’s leg with his hand, rubbing the calf with his thumb, smart enough to not give any more physical contact than that, at least until Jiyong has abandoned the idea of tossing Seunghyun out an airlock.  
  
“I’m just,” Jiyong explodes, after a few more sips, “I’m really upset that you didn’t tell me. I can adjust to Hyunjoong being a brain Duster, I can work with Heechul wanting an alliance, but you—dammit, Seunghyun. You lied to me. For three years.”  
  
An unfortunate truth. “I shouldn’t have,” Seunghyun admits. He had been thinking about it the last few hours, about why exactly he hadn’t told Jiyong about Jaejoong. He had also been talking with Jaejoong about why he is still keeping secrets.  
  
“I,” Jiyong falters, “I could have helped you.”  
  
He finally meets Seunghyun’s eyes and there’s a sort of pain there that Seunghyun’s a little scared to face. “I’m asking for it now.”  
  
“I don’t know if I want to give it, Seunghyun.” The reply is so immediate, Seunghyun is stunned. “I don’t. How am I supposed to know that this time around you’re telling me the truth?”  
  
How indeed? Seunghyun considers his options carefully before making a quick decision, plunging a hand into his pocket and emerging with a canister of the extraordinarily potent Dust. Honestly, if Seunghyun can’t have Jiyong on his side, it’s not worth having anyone else. Not even Jaejoong.  
  
“What is that?”  
  
Seunghyun cuts the communication to the bridge as Jiyong stares at the Dust in shock. Seunghyun enters his command codes into the system, effectively sealing them off from any eyes or ears that may happen to pass by, at least for a small period of time.  
  
“Hyunjoong isn’t the brain Duster,” he admits, and tells Jiyong everything.  
  
—  
  
Geunsuk throws three more people in the brig when he catches them gossiping about Sungmin. Heechul says it’s because Geunsuk has a soft spot for him, but really, he just feels guilty. Sungmin had been under his care when the accident had happened all those years ago, and while it hadn’t been directly his fault—that lay solely with the Scientists—Geunsuk had failed to protect one of his own and that makes him responsible. At least to the point where he can toss people in the brig for unnecessary bullying. It’s not Sungmin’s fault that he can’t be around Jungmo and no one should be acting like it is, especially not members of his own crew.  
  
Geunsuk tucks a strand of errant hair behind his ear and heads back down towards the hangar bay, where he knows Henry’s ship is docked and Taemin is working his magic. The  _Cadenza_  isn’t a glamorous design by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s got it where it’s counts and Henry captains it well for someone so young, making full use of his talented crew.  
  
Donghae greets him with a smile, perched in his usual post outside his fighter’s hatch, parked as always in front of Henry’s craft. “He’s sleeping,” Donghae calls out, “Resting up for later. I mean to join him in a few minutes.”  
  
“If you mean Taemin then I’m going to kick his ass. And yours,” Geunsuk adds as an afterthought. He can’t tolerate cheating bastards, and he knows Heechul would sanction any killing to eradicate the world of them.  
  
“I mean Henry,” Donghae corrects, grinning.  
  
“Then I don’t care,” Geunsuk shrugs and shows himself aboard, ducking inside the cramped space and finding Taemin bent over his work, completely immersed.  
  
Geunsuk raps his knuckles against a bulkhead.  
  
“I’m not done yet.”  
  
“We need you to add ‘Porting privileges. I know you usually do, but we need to be sure.”  
  
“I’ve got it,” Taemin impresses, “I always add them. But if it helps, you can tell the Captain I’m being extra cautious and careful. He’ll have his privileges. I can even add military ones if you want.”  
  
“Is that more work?”  
  
“It’s gravy,” Taemin shrugs, finally looking up. Sweat is beaded on his forehead and his hair is a little matted where it rests against skin.  
  
“Add it,” Geunsuk agrees, “Just in case. And then get some rest.”  
  
Taemin waves a hand.  
  
“You’re the best,” Geunsuk calls over his shoulder as he leaves.  
  
Donghae’s sipping a cocktail of some sort when Geunsuk gets to his fighter. “You’re coming with the landing party.”  
  
“I know,” Donghae nods, “Why do you think I’m drinking?”  
  
Geunsuk can only laugh, because honestly, it’s not a bad idea. In fact, he thinks he should probably go make himself a drink as well. Maybe it will stop his hand from trembling.  
  
—  
  
Jiyong insists on talking to Jaejoong right away. Seunghyun follows him to Jaejoong’s cabin, not holding his breath as they walk inside, but not breathing easy either, at least not until Jiyong sits comfortably beside Jaejoong on his bed and rests a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to say anything. This is a smart idea, and while I’m angry, I do understand.”  
  
“I knew you would,” Jaejoong responds.  
  
“Are you okay?” Jiyong asks, and Seunghyun feels a little rush of affection. As brutal as Jiyong can be, he’s also thoughtful, and there isn’t anyone on the ship that doesn’t know Jiyong cares for them, will fight tooth and nail for every single one of them, will jump out an airlock if it means there is a slight chance of saving their lives.  
  
“I’m scared,” Jaejoong admits, “But not for myself. I don’t want anyone dying on my account.”  
  
Seunghyun reaches out at the same time Jiyong does and they grip him tight. They are of the same mind, as usual, and it makes him immeasurably happy. “No one is going to die,” Jiyong whispers, “I promise that I will keep you safe. I’m one hundred percent on your side.”  
  
“I’m not a trophy,” Jaejoong says, “I don’t belong to anyone.”  
  
“The minute someone calls you that, we leave.”  
  
“I hate this,” Jaejoong admits softly, “I hate being in the middle of all this, of being stuck in between everyone. I hate that you’re stuck here with me. You don’t owe me anything. None of you do.”  
  
Seunghyun can’t imagine it. He can’t imagine having so much power and having to hide it, having to lie about it. He can’t imagine having no family, having nothing familiar, even after three years, and he can’t imagine having Jaejoong’s passion, his stamina, and his good attitude. If it had been him that had been frozen five hundred years, Seunghyun’s not sure he would have survived.  
  
“Jaejoong,” Seunghyun says, and he comes around to Jaejoong’s other side, “I will not betray you. Do you hear me? I will not.”  
  
It’s the first time Seunghyun’s ever seen Jaejoong cry.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin waits until Geunsuk leaves the hangar bay before heading inside, making straight for Donghae and collapsing at his feet. It’s not that he dislikes Geunsuk, but Geunsuk worries a lot, and Sungmin tires of people worrying about him. He takes the drink out of Donghae’s hands and tips his head back, downing it in one gulp.  
  
“Hey,” Donghae pouts.  
  
“It’s that or we start to make out,” Sungmin offers.  
  
“Henry wouldn’t like that,” Donghae says, “But I guess if you really want…” He grins but doesn’t move and Sungmin flops his head onto Donghae’s knee. His life sucks.  
  
“You know,” Donghae starts conversationally, “You’re the best comm officer in the whole galaxy.”  
  
Sungmin snorts.  
  
“Really,” Donghae continues, “You’re like Superman. Super Communications Officer. I’ll make you a cape.”  
  
Sungmin laughs, closing his eyes as he feels Donghae’s hands run into his hair. Physical contact always helps after he calms down and it’s always Donghae he goes to for it, because Donghae’s never made fun of him. Donghae doesn’t pity him or worry about him; Donghae makes him feel normal and Sungmin loves that. Sungmin needs it.  
  
“I’m really close to snapping,” he whispers.  
  
Donghae’s hand stops for a second, and then it continues. His scalp is rubbed and he swallows back tears.  
  
“Any time you need to get away, Sungmin, I’m right here. I’ll even hide you in my fighter and lie if anyone comes looking for you.”  
  
“Sounds nice,” Sungmin says.  
  
“It is,” Donghae assures him, and for a little while, at least, Sungmin knows that he’s safe.


	4. Chapter 4

  
  
Yunho is in a wonderful mood. Theoretically, so long as they keepp the Runners from meeting, this could be it. This could be the end, the final capture of their leaders, the end to everything. As far as he can see, there is no way the Runners can escape.  
  
And if he doesn’t get them, or if nothing happens, then he’ll make his date on time and the day will still end well.  
  
He takes a deep breath, settling more comfortably in his chair. “Watch the comm,” he says to Soojung, “Even if they don’t Dust port, they might communicate and we can catch them that way. Vigilance, people. I want to know if the Dust sneezes Dust.”  
  
Zhou Mi shifts in his seat. “You sound very happy today, Yunho.”  
  
 _Runners Vanquished_ , Yunho sees,  _Jung Yunho: Our Hero, Dust stores taken back: End of Runner Era!_  It makes him giddy.  
  
“I am,” Yunho says, finally smiling, “I really am.” Even if nothing is coming up on the scanners. No unauthorized ‘Ports, no strange transmissions, no suspicious vessels.  
  
“Are we sure about this?” Soojung asks carefully.  
  
“We’re positive,” Yunho says back, and taps his foot. From his location, he can get to anywhere in Seoul within minutes, and as soon as they hear anything,  _anything at all_ —  
  
“Sir,” Soojung says, “What if we tricked them into it?”  
  
Yunho raises an eyebrow.  
  
“Well, we’ve shut down all ‘Ports except military, and our fleet knows that means no ‘Porting without officer approval. So we send a message to all our captains to not authorize any ‘Porting unless they have our approval.”  
  
Yunho’s jaw drops.  
  
“Wait a minute, I don’t understand.” Yunho’s pilot Jinki is frowning.  
  
“If the fleet knows they must get my permission to ‘Port, then we will be able to track all the ‘Ports that happen. Which means, that any ‘Ports that happen within any jurisdiction without my permission, military or otherwise, are illegal.” He feels a thrill. Soojung can easily watch the entirety of Earth for ‘Ports; there’s no way to mask a Dust trial, no matter how small.  
  
“And even if it's not Runners,” Jinki says slowly, “It’s someone doing something illegal and we still win.”  
  
“Precisely,” Yunho grins, and turns back to Soojung. “Send the order out. All ‘Porting privileges are to be revoked immediately unless expressly permitted by me.”  
  
It may not work, especially if the Runners are monitoring their communication channels, but it’s worth a try, and Yunho will take anything he can get. If all goes well, he’ll eradicate the Runners and still be able to make his dinner date for later that evening.  
  
Life is sometimes surprisingly good.  
  
—  
  
The streets are dirty, or at least the one housing their meeting location is, and Jaejoong breathes light so as not to be overwhelmed by the stench. He wraps the scarf covering his nose and mouth more firmly around his head and slips in closer to Junsu, Boa’s communications officer.  
  
Despite the dilapidated state of the prefecture, however, it’s bustling with people and wares and Jaejoong has to duck his head around cloth that suddenly waves in the wind. Even so, after months in space, Jaejoong has to admit it feels good to be on solid ground.  
  
They had landed in a shady docking port, Seunghyun’s four man fighter cramped with the five of them, and Jaejoong’s pretty sure the red ship beside theirs belongs to Heechul.  
  
They weave their way through the crowd, Jiyong speaking softly in a communicator, no doubt talking with Donghae, ascertaining their location and double checking that everything went smoothly. It had on their end, at least: Junsu had been very successful in creating IDs for all of them, including registration for Seunghyun’s craft.  
  
Jaejoong reaches out to grab his hand and Junsu squeezes it. “Don’t worry,” he says, “They may have Hyunjoong the Brain Duster, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take them in a fight.”  
  
“Hyunjoong won’t hurt anyone,” Jaejoong says, “Heechul, though…” He trails off, casting a sly glance at Boa who is linking arms with Seunghyun. She’s the only one among them that doesn’t need to hide her face. She’s never shown herself to anyone, at least, not officially. As far as Jaejoong knows the only Scientist that’s ever seen Boa as Boa is Yunho, and that’s only because they used to be childhood friends. He has no idea why Yunho hasn’t had an artist draw her and plaster her face all over the Scientist wanted list, but Jaejoong certainly isn’t going to complain.  
  
They arrive at the meeting location before Junsu can respond to Jaejoong’s worry over Heechul. Jiyong brushes aside a dirty cloth covering a doorway and steps through it, leading them through several winding corridors before stopping at the end of a hallway, his hand on a doorknob.  
  
He smiles, not asking if they are ready because how could anyone be?  
  
They file into the crowded room silently, Heechul and his team already sitting at one side of a beaten table in the middle of the space. It’s tense as he stands and Jaejoong catches Hyunjoong’s eye, a small smile flitting across his mouth before he turns serious. Task number one: make sure guns stay holstered and no one gets killed, especially in the first five minutes.  
  
Very tentatively, Boa extends her hand, and Jaejoong can tell via his Dust that everyone in the room is holding their breath, himself included. There’s a small sound of air being released as Heechul takes her hand, and Jaejoong slides in between Junsu and Boa. The chairs creak as they all sit.  
  
“Perhaps,” Hyunjoong begins softly, “We should start with introductions of any Dusters, just in case.”  
  
As a show of trust, Jaejoong knows.  
  
Boa starts. “I have complete control of Immune systems, as I'm sure you are all aware of. The only other two Dusters in our group are Jiyong, who is a blood Duster, and Seunghyun, with control over heart and veins."  
  
“We make a good team,” Jiyong says, and he sounds smug.  
  
Heechul, Jaejoong knows, is a voice Duster, meaning that he has control of not only a person's vocal cords and tongue, but throat and diaphragm as well. Yoochun is a breath Duster, with control over trachea and lungs, and of course, there’s Yoobin, though Jaejoong’s not sure how much of a threat she is just yet.  
  
"She's cracked a man's spine before," Yoochun says, cuddling her on his lap, clearly very proud. "Though whether it's bone or just the spine she has control over, I don't know."  
  
Jaejoong is surprised to discover that Donghae is also a Duster, though one of just touch, able to enhance the feeling of any thing against skin -- or make someone feel something that isn't there. He grins when Jiyong hands a bar of chocolate over to him, and Jaejoong decides it’s best not to ask for details.  
  
"There's one more of us," Heechul says, "But we wanted to give you fair warning before he joins the party."  
  
"Jungmo," Boa says, smiling. Heechul doesn't seem the least bit surprised that she knows.  
  
"Yes. He's…mostly harmless, but because he reacts with hormonal Dust, his control is a little wild, so he can't always help how he affects the people around him. Hormones are a little crazy so his control over them is also unpredictable.” Heechul grins. “He’s a natural human aphrodisiac. If you have an issue with your body you may want to leave now."  
  
"We're fine," Jiyong responds smoothly, "And if anyone’s heart rate increases or blood rushes too fast, Seunghyun and I will be able to control it.”  
  
Heechul cocks his head. "A fine team indeed." He reaches for his wireless comm and tells whomever is on the other ends that Jungmo can come inside. It clicks with Jaejoong that Jungmo is Dust porting down to the surface of earth a moment too late for him to object.  
  
“Was that a good idea?” he asks tentatively, and tries not to swallow too hard as Heechul’s eyes land on him.  
  
“We have military clearance,” Heechul explains, “We’ll be fine.”  
  
No one says anything while they wait, an unspoken agreement to have Jungmo there so as to level the playing field five to five, so long as no one counts Yoobin. Though Jaejoong thinks she could count because it’s obvious why she’s there: no one wants to do any shooting with a child around. Also, Jaejoong thinks, Yoochun is making a show of trust by bringing his daughter along. Jaejoong would really like to give her a hug.  
  
It doesn’t take long for Jungmo to stroll in, skirting around the table and sitting closely next to Heechul. Jaejoong can almost see the Dust rolling off him in waves.  
  
“I apologize for keeping everyone,” he says, “I didn’t want to garner undo attention by walking through the crowds.”  
  
“It’s fine,” Boa says, and casts a look at Jiyong who nods, “We’re all fine.”  
  
Yoochun begins to dig in a bag and everyone watches silently as he hands Yoobin a datapad which she immediately plugs earphones into and begins to play games on, sitting comfortably on her father’s lap. Jaejoong can almost see the specks of Dust swirling around on the screen. He can definitely feel them.  
  
It is a good a signal to start their meeting as any.  
  
—  
  
“Shit,” Soojung says.  
  
Yunho whips his head around, surprised because she very rarely curses.  
  
“Unauthorized military ‘Port,” she announces, “Right into the outskirts of Seoul. Tracking trajectory now.”  
  
Yunho feels his heart speed up. He waits patiently as Soojung works and then crows in triumph, as she splits the viewer into two images, one half a ship in space and the other a dilapidated building in the slums of Seoul. Yunho knows with a glance that the ship is the  _Ikati_. Clearly, the Runner captain needs to work on hiding better.  
  
“Soojung, put the orders out. Get Kyuhyun on that ship’s ass right now. Siwon, Zhou Mi, let’s get the guards moving. We’ve got some Runners to catch.”  
  
A sweep of a nearby landing station confirms that there are two unidentified vessels and Yunho orders a squad of men to confiscate both of them.  
  
“Time to end this,” he says, and can’t help his smile. He wishes the press had been there to see it.  
  
—  
  
“So,” Jiyong begins, and it’s obvious that he’s hesitant and trying very hard not to sound it. “Let’s talk about why we’re here.”  
  
“It’s only fair if I’m honest with you,” Heechul says, “Not everyone in my crew thinks this is the brightest idea. But I understand why the four of you wanted us all to meet. If Hyunjoong gets into the hands of the Scientists, it spells doom for every Runner from Mercury to Pluto and beyond.”  
  
Boa nods, “I agree. The more protection the better.”  
  
“I think,” Yoochun says quietly, “The first step is to find an extra body or two for Hyunjoong’s safety.”  
  
Jaejoong can almost feel the tension rise in the room as Boa shifts in her seat. “You’re asking for one of my Dusters?”  
  
“No,” Yoochun says, “I’m asking for someone who’s good at protecting.” He looks pointedly at Jaejoong and everyone follows his gaze.  
  
“You want my goddamn pilot?” Boa asks, and the tension notches up another level. “ _Jiyong’s_  pilot,” she corrects after a moment, and looks at Jiyong like he’s insane.  
  
“We want him precisely because he’s a pilot. He’s good with hand to hand, and they’re friends,” Yoochun looks at Seunghyun, “Back me up here, this was your idea.”  
  
“Jaejoong is the best choice,” Seunghyun agrees, “We can find another pilot just fine. But they trust each other, and that’s the most important thing here.”  
  
“But not fair,” Boa objects, “If you get Jaejoong then we get someone of yours.”  
  
This is expected, and Heechul nods, casting a glance around the room. “We’ll give you Sungmin,” he says, “He’s not here, but he needs to get off my ship for awhile. We can arrange an exchange at another location.”  
  
They work out the finer details, quickly putting in writing promises to remain out of one another’s business as always, but also implementing codes and securities so that should Hyunjoong ever be in danger, help is only a call away.  
  
Then it happens.  
  
Heechul’s outstretched hand cracks, his wrist snapping to the left, the sound reverberating in the small room. As everyone watches in horror, too shocked to move, his leg also breaks and he crumples onto the floor in pain, screaming.  
  
In the next second, Yoochun’s grabbed Yoobin and covers both Hyunjoong and his daughter on the floor, just as a loud bang is heard outside and the walls and floor start to shake violently. Or that it just feels that way—he’s sure there’s no way to make an actual earthquake occur and the trembles are most likely someone spasming the different parts in their body.  
  
Seunghyun is the next to fall. It takes a moment for Jaejoong to figure out what’s wrong before he sees the heart Duster’s muscles  _ripple_ underneath his skin.  
  
 _Muscles. Bone_ , Jaejoong thinks, horrified. “Yunho,” he says, “It’s Yunho and Siwon.” Which means Zhou Mi is also with them, which means the whole Scientist fleet is out there and the Runners are surrounded. There’s no other explanation.  
  
Jiyong grabs Jaejoong and tosses him onto the floor next Seunghyun, covering both of them with his body as the light hanging from the ceiling comes crashing down and shatters, shards of glass shooting out into the room. Jaejoong feels one scrape his cheek and he grunts.  
  
Jiyong’s hand is on him almost immediately and Jaejoong feels the scratch scab over in a matter of seconds. They hoist Seunghyun up between them, because although his muscles are no longer twisted in on themselves, he can barely use them. Yoochun is holding Yoobin tight, propping Heechul up between himself and Hyunjoong.  
  
“There’s no way,” Boa hisses, “There’s no way they could have figured it out.”  
  
Blame is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and before anyone can pull out their guns, Jaejoong says, “Let’s focus on getting out of here alive.”  
  
A call to the guard Heechul had posted outside confirms that they’re surrounded, and Jaejoong feels a small sinking fear in the pit of his stomach as the guard suddenly screams, the hum of Dust abruptly cut off.  
  
“We could ‘Port,” Donghae says.  
  
“That will lead them right to our ships,” Jaejoong says.  
  
Donghae stares at him, “You can’t outfly a Scientist cruiser?”  
  
Jaejoong bristles immediately, a scathing reply on the tip of his tongue, but Boa elbows him lightly. “Not the time,” she scolds, “We have a better chance ‘Porting out of here and beating them in a sky fight than not.”  
  
“The  _Valenti_  is too far away to safely ‘Port this many people,” Jiyong argues, naming Boa’s main cruiser, “And what about the fighters we came down in?”  
  
“If they know we’re here, they know where those fighters are. I think it’s safe to consider them a lost cause,” Boa says, and looks at Hyunjoong, “What do you think?”  
  
“’Port onto Heechul’s for the time being,” Hyunjoong says softly, and everyone turns to stare at him, and then Heechul, who is breathing hard and trying to look as though he isn’t in pain.  
  
“For the time being,” he reiterates, through gritted teeth, “We’ll get off of here and then get you back to your ship and do the exchange.”  
  
Donghae flips open his comm, calling up to the  _Ikati_  just outside the security around Earth, not waiting for Boa to agree. After a few seconds of Dust-tone, someone shrieks over it, “They’re everywhere. Fricking Scientist ships all over me!”  
  
“Geunsuk, we’re ‘Porting up,” Donghae says.  
  
“ _All of you_?” The voice shouts, “SHIT. STOP SHOOTING AT ME. BASTARDS. Okay. Stand by, I’ll get Hongki on the line.”  
  
“Everyone stand together,” Hyunjoong says, “It will be easier for Hongki to ‘Port us up if we’re closer to one another.” He takes Heechul’s comm, instructing his replacement on the exact specifics of ‘Porting up such a large amount of people from such a long ways away.  
  
“Sorry everyone,” Jungmo says, as they all grasp onto each other.  
  
Jaejoong feels his heart rate speed up at Jungmo’s proximity and he buries himself against Jiyong, who is obviously trying very hard to keep everyone’s blood under control. Jaejoong reaches out to touch Hyunjoong and pulls him close. “Help,” he demands, and then Hyunjoong pretends to exert some Dust just as Jaejoong does, and he can hear everyone breathe a little easier. Maybe they could pull this off after all—assuming they survived the next few minutes, anyway.  
  
“How much longer?” Boa whispers.  
  
“Soon,” Donghae says, staring intently at the comm in his hand, obviously watching Hongki’s progress in the ship.  
  
They remain quiet, clinging to each other desperately, until Jaejoong hears it: footsteps. Boots, pounding on the cement outside the room and growing louder with each passing second. With a little Dust enhancement, Jaejoong can hear sharp breathing and whispered commands.  _Five in front, five in back. On the count of three. One. Two._  
  
Jaejoong grabs Hyunjoong’s neck, intent on playing up his bodyguard ruse while simultaneously keeping himself safe, but it’s too late. The door bursts open and Jaejoong’s mouth goes dry as he sees Zhou Mi and Yunho standing in the doorway, Siwon just behind him, and Youngbae and his squadron of elite guards following closely. Four of the Scientist’s most powerful people all in the same place; Jaejoong suddenly feels sick. He acts before anyone else can, reaching out and latching onto Zhou Mi’s arm, yanking him against the Runner group.  
  
Siwon lashes out, obvious in an attempt to grab him back, but Jaejoong narrows his eyes, slamming as much Dust as he can into Zhou Mi’s body to have the Scientist yell in pain. “Don’t,” he shouts, and Siwon comes to a halt, staring in shock as Zhou Mi kneels on the floor, frozen.  
  
Hyunjoong lays a hand on Zhou Mi’s shoulder, and Jaejoong makes words come out of Zhou Mi’s mouth against his will: “Stay. Back.”  
  
The guards have their weapons aimed, waiting for an order that would become a massacre, when Jaejoong feels a familiar tug on his body. The ‘Hole is opening for them.  
  
Siwon takes a step back, and Boa coos at him. “Good decision.”  
  
“So,” Yunho whispers, and Jaejoong allows him to continue, curious as to what he’d say, “You do have a brain Duster.”  
  
His horrified expression is the last thing Jaejoong sees before his knees hit the floor of the  _Ikati_ , and he focuses all the Dust he can muster straight at Zhou Mi, slowing the man’s blood down, making the Scientist lethargic and unable to function correctly. Jaejoong keeps an arm around Zhou Mi’s neck as a precaution, but also so that he’s have an excuse to remain next to him. From his vantage point, Hyunjoong is a terrible actor, because it definitely does not look like he’s doing all the work Jaejoong is, and he makes a note to talk it over with Hyunjoong later.  
  
“Get him locked up and drugged,” Heechul orders, looking at Donghae. “Hyunjoong, if you’ll go with them.”  
  
“Jaejoong,” Jiyong hisses, “You are insane.”  
  
“But brilliant,” Yoochun says, smiling from underneath a sheen of sweat, Yoobin still clutched in his arms, “I am looking forward to having you around.”  
  
Jaejoong grins.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin arrives as soon as Jungmo leaves, jaw dropping in horror as he sees Heechul and Seunghyun unable to hold themselves upright without help.  
  
“Heechul first,” Seunghyun says.  
  
“Yoochun, go  _pilot my ship_ ,” Heechul yells, and then screams as the ship shudders, jarring his broken legs.  
  
Yoochun decides that he’s going to temporarily take charge knowing Hyunjoong and Jaejoong would fix Heechul and Seunghyun when they got back from leaving Zhou Mi locked in the brig. “Sungmin,  _get back up there_. Jungmo is in the turret, you’ll be fine.” He turns to Jiyong. “How are you with guns?”  
  
“I’m staying with Seunghyun,” Jiyong says, “Junsu can go.”  
  
Yoochun gives Junsu directions to Heechul’s gunners, and then sprints up to the bridge after sending Yoobin to her room for safety, diving into his pilot’s seat as Geunsuk leaves it and ignoring questions about Heechul. “Shut up and let me fly!” He focuses on the firing patterns spilling from Junhyung’s lips, and the enemy stats coming from Sungmin. They just have to hold on until Hongki has enough Dust or Hyunjoong can get up to the bridge and hold them off. No, wait. Not Hyunjoong. Jaejoong. Until Jaejoong can hold them off.  
  
And there’s a lot of them. There’s a shit ton of Scientists. They must have all been hiding somewhere nearby, because it’s easily half the fleet, all of them swarming like bees over a flower and making it hard to maneuver.  
  
As he swerves and dives, Yoochun hears Hongki yelling a countdown over the ship comm: fifteen, fourteen, a rear engine goes out, shields down to fifty percent. Nine, eight, there’s a hole in the hangar bay and someone got sucked out of it, poor bastard. Hyunjoong and Jaejoong come barreling through the door. Three, two, one, Yoochun breathes a sigh of relief as everything blurs for a moment and then he collapses, his body melting into his chair.  
  
They’re safe.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun watches his viewer in horror as Heechul’s ship drops into a ‘Hole, slipping away in front of him.  
  
“Fuck,” Changmin yells, and Kyuhyun hears something slam against a bulkhead, most likely Changmin’s hand. “Fucking little buggers, we  _had_  you.”  
  
Kyuhyun grinds his teeth, too irritated to reprimand Changmin’s language. He turns to Ryeowook, “Please tell me you’ve done something awesome again.”  
  
Ryeowook gives him a feral grin. “You have twenty four hours,” he says, and this time, Kyuhyun doesn’t wait for Yunho, or even an order.  
  
He sets his jaw. “Prepare a wormhole,” he says, and settles back into his seat.

 

 

\--

 

 

  
Yunho stares at his screen in disbelief, watching first Heechul drop away, and then a minute later, Kyuhyun. Siwon makes a strangled noise of frustration beside him and Yunho really wants to echo it. How the situation got out of control this fast he’ll never know.  
  
He’s beyond irritated.  
  
“Soojung,” he says carefully, “Get me in contact with Kyuhyun as soon as possible. Tell him if he so much as moves without my permission he’s dead; he’s fired and demoted and screwed for the rest of his career. If he’s lucky.”  
  
They wait fifteen minutes, in which time Yunho resolves to toss Kyuhyun in the brig for jumping after a very dangerous ship full of very dangerous Runners. He cannot afford to lose any of his Captains and Kyuhyun knows this.  
  
Yunho’s scowling when Soojung finally connects him, but he’s mildly placated when Kyuhyun bows.  
  
“The  _hell_  do you think you’re doing?”  
  
“I had to jump right away,” Kyuhyun explains, “I’m sorry, but—“  
  
“Kyuhyun, they have a brain Duster.”  
  
“I did not have time,” Kyuhyun repeats, “The  _Ikati_  is in ruins. I can get it. At least part of it.”  
  
“Not until you send me your coordinates.”  
  
Kyuhyun is probably one of the most stubborn people Yunho knows. It’s good, but in situations such as these, it drives Yunho mad. “Kyuhyun,” Yunho presses, “Even if this works in our favor, there will be repercussions.”  
  
 _For you_ , is the implied message, and Kyuhyun nods, ending the transmission with another stiff bow.  
  
“Idiot,” Yunho hisses, and turns to prepare the rest of the fleet for a jump. He doesn’t have time for this. He has a date later on that day with a very beautiful woman.  
  
And if he misses it, Kyuhyun is going to pay.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin makes his way to the brig, medical supplies in tow, along with permission from Heechul to treat their new prisoner. He steps cheerfully into the sectioned off area and smiles at the guard.  
  
“He’s been drugged so you should be fine.”  
  
“Thank you,” Sungmin says, shuddering a little at the memory of Dust repression drugs. They hadn’t worked for him and he is glad of it.  
  
“I don’t know why you’re bothering,” the guard mutters, “He’s a Scientist.”  
  
Sungmin rolls his eyes, hitting a few buttons on the console to unlock the door, and watches the Dust enhanced bars slide open. He steps into the cell carefully, observing the person across the room that he knows to be Zhou Mi. He looks as though he hasn’t moved from the bed where Jaejoong and Hyunjoong had dropped him and shot his arm up with drugs.  
  
Sungmin walks closer, watching as Zhou Mi’s eyes slide to the left first and then his head. He’s not sure how Zhou Mi got it, but there is a cut on his shoulder as well as a few scratches on his face. His very handsome face. Sad.  
  
“If you’ll let me, I’d like to clean your wounds.”  
  
Zhou Mi doesn’t say anything, turning his head back up to the ceiling. Sungmin takes that as acquiescence and steps forward confidently, setting his bag on the floor and pulling gently at Zhou Mi’s clothes, revealing his shoulder. He winces internally. “What happened to you, do you know?”  
  
The Scientist shrugs. He’s clearly bent on keeping his mouth shut. Not that Sungmin minds, though it will eventually make his job more difficult if it continues. But for the time being, he entertains Zhou Mi, remaining silent as he cleans the wound and stitches it carefully. Just before he’s done, he takes a reader out from his bag, sliding the needle part into Zhou Mi’s mouth, and watching the Dust detector. The Duster be powerless the next few hours at least, Sungmin notes, satisfied.  
  
“Sorry,” he says, patting Zhou Mi’s head. “I’ll bring food in a few hours. Can’t have you starving to death.”  
  
He doesn’t get a response and he sighs. “Rest well,” he says, in an attempt to be kind, and leaves.  
  
He can’t quite put his finger on it, but there’s something very different about Zhou Mi, something Sungmin rather likes. He expects he’ll be visiting Zhou Mi often in an attempt to figure out what that is. Also to get information out of him, but no one except himself and Heechul need to know that. Sungmin’s very good at he does, after all, and that’s mostly because no one ever expects it.  
  
Walking up the corridor towards the med bay, Sungmin starts to whistle. He feels good.  
  
Until the alarms start to go off.  
  
—  
  
Yoochun hears the warning five minutes after he gets Yoobin to go to sleep. She wakes immediately, tears filling her eyes as she clutches her teddy bear. Such is his life of no luck. “Get your headphones, sweetie,” He says, guiding her hands up to cover her ears, “I have to go make sure everything’s okay. I’ll send someone down to keep you company, okay?”  
  
“Want you,” Yoobin mumbles, her arms winding around his neck, teddy bear all but forgotten, “I don’t want someone else. Make it better here.”  
  
“Yoobin, I have to go to the bridge, you know that.”  
  
Yoochun knows where this argument is going to end up, and so does Yoobin. He skips the yelling and lifts her with him, grabbing his comm and hurrying out the door. They’ll just have to talk about it later, when death isn’t looming over them imminently. A spoiled child is no one’s friend, but on a ship where she’s the only child, spoiling seems unavoidable.  
  
Heechul gives him a disapproving look, but Yoochun knows the captain loves Yoobin too much to say anything. This is proven when Yoobin goes to sit at Heechul’s feet, wrapping her arms around his leg. It seems a trivial matter in comparison with Kyuhyun’s cruiser on the viewer, all it’s fire power concentrated on another ship.  
  
It’s the  _Valenti_ , Yoochun realizes, and he casts a glance towards the railing where Boa’s perched, biting anxiously at a fingernail. The black polish is flaking onto her lips.  
  
“They took us completely by surprise; their fighters are keeping us from getting any closer.” Jaejoong gets up from the pilot seat and Yoochun takes his place, wondering if he’s going to have to get used to sharing. He doesn’t like how high Jaejoong had the chair adjusted and Yoochun takes a moment to fix it.  
  
“Got a connection!” Sungmin shouts victoriously, and Yoochun gets the impression that the comm officer’s been trying to navigate some sort of jamming.  
  
A face Yoochun doesn’t recognize fizzles onto the viewer, the picture scratchy and bleeding color.  
  
“Amber!” Boa sounds like she passed the panic stage and is heading straight for hyperventilation.  
  
“I can’t—doing this! Have to—off—die!”  
  
Yoochun holds them steady, throwing a glance back at Boa. He sees Jaejoong head towards her and grab her hand, squeezing it. “We need to get them off,” he whispers, and Yoochun doesn’t need to look back out to know that Jaejoong’s right. The ship is essentially lost.  
  
Boa nods, and Yoochun swallows as he sees her trying to hold back her tears. Losing a ship is never easy.  
  
“Hyunjoong,” Heechul says into the comm, “I need you to get Boa’s crew off the ship.”  
  
“ _All_  of them?” Hyunjoong voice comes back, sounding surprised.  
  
“Please,” Boas whispers.  
  
“I need some time.”  
  
“You don’t have any.”  
  
“Then make me some,” Hyunjoong snaps. “Send Jaejoong down to help Hongki and I prep. I’ll get us close enough for someone to work some Dust under their skin.” Except that will never happen, Yoochun knows, because even with all the extra people on board, no one can be spared, not if they really are going to rescue Boa’s entire crew.  
  
Heechul jerks his head at the weapons officer, “Junhyung, guide Jaejoong down to the engineering, please. Boa, if you feel comfortable ordering around the people in our turrets…”  
  
She needs no second urging, launching herself into the seat almost as soon as Junhyung leaves it, orienting herself with the board. Jiyong, Yoochun knows, is still in sick bay with Seunghyun who hadn’t recovered as quickly as Heechul, otherwise he would be an obvious choice for weapons. The man is a genius with them and Yoochun is really glad they’re now all on the same side.  
  
“Actually,” Heechul says, almost as an afterthought, “Geunsuk, you take weapons. Come sit with me, Boa, we’ll comm Kyuhyun’s ship. I imagine he came here intending to shoot us down, but saw your ship and decided to give it a surprise volley or two. I’ll bet anything he thinks you’re on it.” They saw her on Earth, anyway, Yoochun knows, so there’s no harm in it now.  
  
“Sungmin,” Geunsuk says, by way of an order.  
  
“Already got it,” Sungmin gives a silent countdown on his fingers and when he hits zero, Kyuhyun’s face fizzles onto the screen.  
  
Yoochun grins as the Scientist captain raises an eyebrow.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Heechul drawls, “Did no one tell you that we’ve made an alliance?”  
  
“I knew,” Kyuhyun says quietly, a look of intense concentration on his face.  
  
“You’re obliterating my ship,” Boa says.  
  
“I hope you have a spare.”  
  
Boa snorts.  
  
“You sit tight,” Kyuhyun says, “We’re coming for you next.”  
  
“Over my dead body,” Heechul snaps, but the connection is already dead. “Hyunjoong!”  
  
“Thirty seconds,” Hyunjoong shouts back.  
  
Yoochun watches the ship outside the viewer shudder with every pummel of Dust it gets from the  _Seersha_  and he wonders if they’re going to make it. Hongki’s voice is counting down over the comm, and Yoochun holds his breath until Hongki shouts triumphantly: “Got them!” and Yoochun lets out a sigh of relief.  
  
“Got your Dust too,” Hyunjoong’s voice says. “Everyone stay put while I hold them still and Hongki gets the engine prepped.”  
  
Several things happen at once. Kyuhyun delivers a final blast to the  _Valenti_  and it explodes, making Boa wimp pitifully. But then Kyuhyun’s ship freezes and Yoochun knows Jaejoong’s managed to get them under his control.  
  
Hyunjoong’s voice comes back through the speakers. “What do you want me to do?”  
  
“Just hold them there until you’ve got enough Dust in the engines to drop through a hole. Can you really multitask like this?”  
  
“Hongki’s got the engines under control,” Hyunjoong says, “If you want to take out their guns or anything, now is the time. It will keep them occupied and frightened out of their minds.”  
  
Yoochun grins wickedly. “Ready, Geunsuk?”  
  
He doesn’t want for confirmation, swooping in close to the ship and watching with glee as the gunners in the turrets take exact orders from Geunsuk and carefully shear off the gun ports on Kyuhyun’s ship. Several people whistle.  
  
As soon as Hongki announces that they have enough Dust, Yoochun backs the  _Ikati_  away and waits for Sungmin to plot the ‘Hole. Yoobin jumps into his lap as it’s announced over the comm, and squirms uncomfortably as they drop, hurtling through space.  
  
“Is it safe?” she asks, as soon as they pop out.  
  
Yoochun lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’s been holding. “We’re safe.”  
  
For now.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun fumes silently, spinning a chopstick on the table like it’s the most entertaining activity in the world. He’s waiting for Yunho to give him an order to return and Kyuhyun rather expects he’ll be spending a few days in the brig for recklessly following Heechul down a ‘Hole. Granted, he had destroyed the  _Valenti_ , but losing his guns and Boa’s crew makes it a lot less satisfying than he had wanted it to be.  
  
A knock sounds on his door and Minho’s voice announces his presence. Kyuhyun grants him entrance and the pilot plops down opposite him.  
  
“You look like you want to kill someone.”  
  
“I’m rather enjoying my moment of depression. Say what you’ve come to say and then leave. Yunho will be here soon and I expect that I will be locked up.”  
  
“I’ve discovered something else.”  
  
Kyuhyun perks up.  
  
“Is it as interesting as the last thing you found?”  
  
“Maybe,” Minho says, and slides his datapad across the low table.  
  
Kyuhyun accepts it and scrolls through the information. “What is this?”  
  
“These are the IDs they used to get into Seoul, along with their ships and the stats for them. Someone sent it along the same encryption line as the last time.”  
  
Kyuhyun knew that they had already found the ships and that Yunho had people combing every inch of them for information. Really, the interesting part of this is that someone had bothered to send it to them.  
  
“Someone over there seems to like us,” Kyuhyun says, tapping the datapad.  
  
Minho nods. “We have ourselves an informant.”  
  
“Music to my ears,” Kyuhyun says, and his mood lifts considerably. “But don’t tell anyone yet. Let’s be absolutely positive that this was meant for us.”  
  
Minho nods. “For what it’s worth, I think you made the right decision.”  
  
“Of course I did. Yunho knows that I did, it’s just that he didn’t order it and not everyone can do what they please.”  
  
“Just genius captains?” Minho teases.  
  
“Just genius captains,” Kyuhyun confirms, “Though we are occasionally thrown into the brig to discourage everyone else from doing the same. Tell Changmin I want to see him before Yunho gets here. I’ve a got a list of things for him to do while I’m incapacitated.”  
  
—  
  
The moment that they’re safe, Boa demands a fighter to get back to their base near Earth. She has a date she can’t miss, though she doesn’t tell anyone that. For all intents and purposes, she’s meeting with a huge client. And no, she doesn’t need anyone to go with her. No third wheels allowed.  
  
She heads for a space colony a few parsecs from Earth, where the planet’s about the size of her thumb when she looks back up at it. She needs a shower and a dress before she can go anywhere, however, and swears violently when her comm chirps almost as soon as she checks out of customs.  
  
 _Be there in fifteen_!  
  
She sends back a virtual heart swirling with showers of Dust before rushing into her apartment complex and getting ready in a record breaking ten minutes. She practically skips down into the station’s market; it had been a good two weeks since she’d last seen him. Romantically, of course. Almost getting killed earlier in the day doesn’t count.  
  
He’s waiting for her at the restaurant, leaning against the side of a building, grinning like a mad person.  
  
Boa melts as his arms come around her and she thanks her lucky stars that she has a muscle Duster to date. The persistent knots that had been digging into her neck for the past few days ease up and she fights back an urge to collapse.  
  
“You’re so tense.”  
  
“Tense day,” Boa mumbles into his shirt, and sighs as his hand slides across her back. “Heard that there was a commotion earlier. Thought you wouldn’t be able to make it.”  
  
“Wouldn’t miss seeing you for the world,” he whispers.  
  
The effects of a full body massage assault her and all she can manage is a moan as he laughs into her ear. He bends a bit to kiss her. “Better?”  
  
“Mm. Not fair. Can’t make me boneless in public.”  
  
“Let’s eat something, and then maybe we can arrange me making you boneless in private.”  
  
Boa grasps his hand tightly in response and they make their way into the restaurant. They always come here and always sit in the same spot. If the staff recognize him, they never say, as it’s obvious he doesn’t want to be recognized, and Boa does the talking for them, placing an order with the waiter and thanking him for bringing over water.  
  
“How’s the museum?” Yunho asks, “Did you get those new pieces from Milan?”  
  
Boa nods, “They’re beautiful. I can show you tonight, unless you have some prior engagement that is more important than me.” His nose wrinkles and she pouts. “Jung.”  
  
Her hand his covered, “Yunho,” he impresses, “It’s Yunho here. We’ve been over this. And I can’t tonight. At least not until later. I have an issue with one of my captains.”  
  
Sometimes, Boa wonders why he doesn’t just arrest her on the spot, despite their shared childhood and involved past. He obviously knows exactly who she is, but he never says anything and it makes her nervous. Though perhaps he wonders why she doesn’t shoot him every time they meet.  
  
She tells herself, very firmly, that it’s solely for informational purposes.  
  
“Problem?”  
  
“He’s an idiot,” Yunho says, “Brilliant, but an idiot,” and he doesn’t need to elaborate.  
  
“After then,” Boa offers. “I’m here for a few days.”  
  
Yunho smiles.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin heads back down to the brig when his shift is over, grabbing a tray of food from the galley on his way. The guard acknowledges him with a nod of his head and then goes back to whatever he’s reading on his datapad.  
  
“You can go,” Sungmin tells him pointedly.  
  
“I’m not authori-“  
  
“Out,” Sungmin orders, “Before I comm the Captain and tell him you’re disobeying my orders.”  
  
The guard is on his feet in seconds. “I’ll wait in the hallway,” he says, and does just that.  
  
Zhou Mi doesn’t move when the doors slide back and Sungmin sighs, setting the tray on the ground by the cot. He takes out his Dust measurer, surprised as Zhou Mi complies with his order to open his mouth and watches as the gauge barely moves. Still well drugged, then. That’s good.  
  
“You must be hungry,” Sungmin says, pulling the instrument away and tucking it inside his pocket.  
  
Zhou Mi glances down at the tray of food and then back up to Sungmin suspiciously.  
  
“It’s not poisoned or laced with more drugs,” Sungmin promises, and grabs a piece of kimchi, popping it into his mouth.  
  
Zhou Mi waits a few more seconds, most likely to see if Sungmin falls over dead, and then sits up gingerly, taking the tray of food and eating slowly. He watches over the rim of the bowl as Sungmin scoots away and sits at the far end of the cell, leaving the door open.  
  
The Scientist swallows and gestures vaguely, lapping up a grain of rice perched precariously on his lip. “You aren’t afraid like the rest of them.”  
  
Sungmin smiles. “I have no reason to be.”  
  
Zhou Mi points at the cell door. “You left that open.”  
  
“I’m a little claustrophobic.”  
  
“Do you  _want_  me to try something?” Zhou Mi asks, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Sungmin makes a note to remember napkins next time.  
  
“You can if you like, but I don’t think you’ll get very far. The guard is out there, for one, as well as a ship full of Dusters. We’re not near a planet at the moment, and all our fighters are currently either out on missions or in repair. And even if I’m lying to you, you’re drugged. You aren’t going to get very far.”  
  
Zhou Mi stares at him for a moment before going back to his food. He smiles. “But that’s assuming I get by you, correct?”  
  
Sungmin grins. “Exactly,” he says, and folds his arms. “You’ve got a nice smile,” he tells the Scientist, “You should do it more.”  
  
Zhou Mi snorts. “You’ve made it very clear I have nothing to smile about.”  
  
“True,” Sungmin nods, and settles back against the cell wall, satisfied with himself. He’s definitely making progress.  
  
—  
  
Yunho confines Kyuhyun to his quarters for a few days. Objectively looking at the facts, Kyuhyun  _had_  managed to take out a Runner ship. Kid is a genius, there’s nothing else to it, and Yunho really can’t find it in himself to dole out serious punishment.  
  
“You’re in charge, though you can visit him for all I care,” Yunho tells Changmin, who grins, “This is honestly stupid regulations and all that. Just understand he’s the only one I let off the hook like this.”  
  
“Of course,” Changmin says, “The  _Seersha_  needs repairs anyway, so we’re not going anywhere. Actually,  _he_  needs repair more than the ship. Stupid idiot hardly ever sleeps.”  
  
“My good deed for the day, then. You can tell him he’s got to get at least eight hours the next few nights, or I really will throw him in the brig.”  
  
Changmin salutes him.  
  
Walking out, Yunho realizes he finished a lot earlier than expected and he smiles to himself. He comms Soojung. “Have my fighter prepped, please. I need to head back to the space station.”  
  
He doesn’t need to tell her which one.


	5. Chapter 5

  
Growing up, Yunho and Boa had been neighbors. That he had liked her from the moment they met has never been a secret, known even to their parents, and Yunho will go so far as to say that they had decided the two of them would marry before Yunho and Boa had secretly promised it to each other—at the age of twelve.  
  
But then the war over Dust had erupted, taking with it the lives of both of Boa’s parents and Yunho’s father, and their relationship had never been the same. Boa had disappeared right before Yunho enlisted, and he didn’t see her again until the night of his inauguration as the Scientist leader.  
  
He hadn’t known then that she was a Runner, but it hadn’t taken long for him to find out. Even then, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do anything.  
  
So they just date. Eat together, laugh together, sleep together, and try to forget everything going on around them. Honestly, he loves her, and there is no getting around that.  
  
Part of him hates this, hates the lying and the games they play, but the part where her arms come around him or when he pulls her onto his lap for a tickle fest or when he makes the sweetest sort of love to her, those are the times that he adores everything about the two of them together.  
  
He turns onto his side, noting that Boa must be in a deep sleep because her arm doesn’t compensate the change in position. He draws in a slow breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging in his mind. Granted, Scientists had taken everything from him, but he is trying to fix that. He is trying to rebuild a society, trying to fix a broken system, but he can’t, because there are smugglers running around the system stealing the one resource he needs.  
  
He’s supposed to despise them, despise  _her_ , not fall in love. Especially now that her side has a brain Duster.  
  
He disentangles himself from her, wrapping the sheets gently around her naked body, and slips out into her living room where he picks up his comm from his pants pocket. They had landed rather unceremoniously on a coffee table where he had flung them a few hours before.  
  
The beeping sounds loud as he punches in Siwon’s code, and Yunho winces. He takes a deep breath, his hand hovering over the enter button as he thinks. He should press it. He should press it and have Siwon come down with a squad of men so that they can take Boa into custody and get out of her where the brain Duster is.  _Who_  it is. Where the Runners have taken Zhou Mi, and how to get him back.  
  
But he can’t. He realizes with surprise that there are tears running down his face, and it shocks him so much he turns his comm off and hurls it at the couch, where it thuds into a pillow. He stands for what seems hours, shaking and crying until he feels arms go around his middle—Boa’s arms—and he clutches at them, horrified with himself for what he almost just did.  
  
“Hey,” she whispers, and he can feel her skin against him. “Yunho.”  
  
“I’m fine,” he manages.  
  
“Liar,” she whispers.  
  
 _Don’t you know it,_  Yunho thinks bitterly.  
  
“You can talk to me. I swear I won’t remember it tomorrow. I promise.”  
  
He turns around instead, lifting her and the sheet she’s wrapped up in, holding her tight. Her hands pull through his hair and her legs wrap around his middle as his tears turn into gasps turn into hiccups.  
  
“I really don’t want to lose you,” he whispers.  
  
“You won’t,” she assures him.  
  
But they both know neither of them can promise that.  
  
And it breaks Yunho’s heart.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun decides he’s had enough punishment after a few days and lets himself out of confinement. He’s got things to do, after all, like figure out a way to capture a brain Duster and rescue Zhou Mi. He goes in search of Changmin and finds him on a catwalk overlooking the hangar bay. With Siwon. Spectacular. The one person who never bends the rules.  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be confined to quarters?”  
  
“I was. Now I’m not. What it going on with my ship? Sir,” he adds on, just in case Siwon thinks disrespect is a reason to lock him back up.  
  
“Repairs are nearly complete,” Changmin steps forward, looking a little alarmed at Kyuhyun’s sudden appearance. He hands a datapad over, wary.  
  
Kyuhyun takes it, snorting at the stats he scrolls by. Really, they should just give him a new ship. It’s getting a little ridiculous.  
  
“After what you pulled,” Siwon says, as if he knows exactly what Kyuhyun’s snort means, “Be thankful you’re getting this at all. In fact, you’re only getting the parts and services because you destroyed a Runner cruiser.”  
  
“And with these I’ll hopefully destroy another.”  
  
Siwon crosses his arms, smiling. It’s possibly meant to be deceptive. “Hopefully,” he agrees. “I’ve got other things to do. Please check in with Yunho when you have a moment and inform him that you are back to your duties as captain.”  
  
 _Or I will_ , is the inferred message, and Kyuhyun bows as he leaves.  
  
“Kyuhyun,” Changmin starts.  
  
“I’ve slept and rejuvenated and I want to kick some Runner ass. Where’s Ryeowook? I’ve got an assignment for him.”  
  
Ryeowook is at the comm, and he smiles when Kyuhyun approaches, tactfully not saying anything about his confinement. “Busy?” Kyuhyun asks, “No, you’re not. Excellent.” He snaps at another ensign to come and take Ryeowook’s place. “Got something for you to start working on,” he says, ushering Ryeowook into a conference room.  
  
He tells Ryeowook and Changmin about Yunho’s plan to hopefully get back some of the Dust the Runners steal. They are, as expected, enthused by the idea, and Ryeowook promises to draft out some ideas.  
  
“Why don’t you give me cool projects?” Changmin frowns, “I’m useful!”  
  
“To me,” Kyuhyun says, “You are invaluable, just in other ways.” He turns back to Ryeowook. “Yunho has someone he wants you to work with on this. It’s a lot for one person; we realize that and we’re not just dumping all this on you. He’s a Dust specialist, and a little on the strange side, but he’s got a decent brain.”  
  
“Even if you didn’t, I’d tackle it,” Ryeowook says, and clutches the datapad, “I’ll get on this as soon as my shift is over.”  
  
“It’s over,” Kyuhyun tells him, “This is your priority from now on, unless we need you on the bridge. If that’s alright.”  
  
The sparkle in Ryeowook’s eyes tells him that it is. He makes a mental note to find out which brilliant person posted Ryeowook to his ship and promote him. “I knew I count on you. Keep me updated and I’ll find out when your help will be here. Let me know if you need anything.”  
  
Changmin is still pouting as they leave Ryeowook in the conference room to pore over the data. “I hope you have something nice to give me to make up for this.”  
  
“Make up for what?” Kyuhyun scoffs.  
  
Changmin huffs and Kyuhyun watches his commanding officer (boyfriend, a voice reminds him) walk away, clearly pissed. But whatever. Changmin’ll get over it. Something else will surface that he will take on and accomplish spectacularly, as he always does.  
  
Kyuhyun plops into his chair heavily, waving off the bowing, and noting that Minho doesn’t even bother. Kyuhyun chucks a datapad pointer at Minho’s head and watches with satisfaction as it bounces off.  
  
“Sorry,” Minho says sarcastically, “Didn’t realize you would be on the bridge.”  
  
“Surprise,” Kyuhyun says sourly, and turns his attention to his private comm system. He really does need to call Yunho, because if Siwon talks to him first, life as he knows it is over. However, Yunho does not at all look perturbed that Kyuhyun is calling. He actually seems a little bit distracted, not that Kyuhyun can hold it against him. Governing a galaxy is tough job, or so Kyuhyun imagines.  
  
“I put Ryeowook on our project.”  
  
“Good,” Yunho nods, “I’ll have Siwon drop off that scientist to help.” A literal scientist, Kyuhyun knows. An expert on Dust. Kyuhyun had always wanted one of those.  
  
“We’re not going anywhere,” Kyuhyun says, sure he’s glowering as he recalls the list of repairs still yet to be finished.  
  
“I’m drafting some ideas for a rescue mission, by the way. We need Zhou Mi back before they get any information out of him. Start a plan of your own and we’ll merge them.”  
  
They end the call amicably, and Kyuhyun wishes Siwon had been there to see it. It would have been very satisfying.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin brings Zhou Mi food regularly.  
  
They had been docked at their hide out on Io for a few days now, repairing Heechul’s ship (rebuilding, Geunsuk had insisted, looking ready to tear out his hair,) and stocking it with supplies for the crew members that had essentially doubled.  
  
While the Scientist eats, Sungmin tells him about the growing costs and Heechul’s frustrations with it and how Sungmin is really sick of hearing him whine. Zhou Mi rarely says anything back, and if he does, it usually ends the conversation because his tone is scathing.  
  
But Sungmin persists. Zhou Mi is still human, and Sungmin has never been one to give up.  
  
He walks into the cell, leaving it open as always. Zhou Mi is lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, looking dead but for his thumbs which lightly beat against his stomach. He looks up, expressionless, as Sungmin walks in, his eyes falling almost immediately to the rice and kimchi. There isn’t much for him to look forward to except food.  
  
He sits up, grabbing the utensils Sungmin holds up to him immediately. “I tried to get here sooner but Heechul wouldn’t let me leave the bridge.”  
  
The Scientist doesn’t respond until he’s half way through his meal. “Why are you doing this?”  
  
“Doing what?” Sungmin asks. He scoots a little closer, crossed legged on the floor by the cot. “Feeding you? It’s apparently become my job.”  
  
“No, I mean why are you still here? Why do you watch me eat?”  
  
“You interest me,” Sungmin admits.  
  
Zhou Mi licks a chopstick. “Bull shit.”  
  
Sungmin purses his lips. He waits what he thinks is a reasonable amount of time before saying, “I give you meals, you eat them. Let’s leave our relationship at that.”  
  
Zhou Mi goes back to food, seemingly satisfied and Sungmin tries very hard not to smirk.  
  
“Zhou Mi, do you like manwha?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“I’ll bring you some. It’ll be much more interesting than staring at the ceiling.”  
  
—  
  
With the  _Valenti_  destroyed, the alliance that had first been on shaky ground, is now firm and fast. Boa decides to stay with Heechul on the  _Ikati_ , since Jiyong and the  _Arach’s_  crew can fit inside it with ease anyhow.  
  
No one is more surprised than Heechul himself when he suggests that maybe they should start a plan to combine their respective business officially. Honestly, she’s not as terrible to work with as he had imagined. It’s oddly invigorating, and perhaps the only person that it affects negatively is Sungmin, because there are less places he can hide from Jungmo.  
  
Neither Heechul or Boa expect it to happen magically, however, and the two of them spend hours in Heechul’s quarters, sometimes alone, sometimes with Geunsuk or Jiyong and work out the details.  
  
The first problem they encounter is Dust. The last few battles had depleted their stores considerably, and after sending out Donghae to probe their informants, they find out about a batch of Dust being shipped from a refining farm by Mars that had been partitioned off specifically for the Scientist himself. It’s a prize neither leader can turn down.  
  
“There’s a Runner base on Io that a former friend of mine runs,” Heechul says, as he and Boa plot over star charts in a conference room. “I don’t like dealing with the bastard, but if we give him a small cut, he might let us use his base, and it’ll make the raid that much easier.”  
  
“Former?” Boa asks. It’s obvious she knows exactly whom Heechul is talking about—in fact there probably isn’t a person in the galaxy that doesn’t know the story—and that she’s only asking out of courtesy.  
  
“Had a quarrel over some stupid shit. Hangeng left.” Heechul shrugs. “It’ll be fine so long as we have a detailed contract. He’s worth his price. Also, we have Henry, so that will help us.”  
  
Henry had initially been a catch of Hangeng’s, when Hangeng had worked with Heechul much like Geunsuk does now, but since their respective differences are now too many to reconcile, Henry is usually the liaison between the two of them.  
  
Technically, Hangeng can be considered a third Runner leader, but he doesn’t deal in Dust, save what he buys from Heechul, and tends only to his outpost in the Asteroid Field and the people that come to him, intent on living outside the war as best they can.  
  
“There’s enough Dust in this haul to split it evenly three ways, if that’s what he wants. Not that we should,” Heechul grins, “He won’t give us any of his ships to use, I’m sure of it.”  
  
“Greedy?”  
  
“Protective,” Heechul corrects, sighing. He opens his comm. Better to alert Geunsuk of their plans early. He never likes to be surprised.  
  
—  
  
“I’ve sent out an order for some Dust,” Yunho says, “It should be here in a few days. I want to use it for setting up the businesses that will attract Runner attention.”  
  
It had taken Ryeowook only a few days to draft several ideas for their Dust scheme, even without the help of the expert Yunho had sent along. Honestly, Kyuhyun is sure most of this is due to his brilliant idea to have Ryeowook help at all. It’s hard to keep the smirk off his face.  
  
“There are those few businesses in the Asteroids,” Ryeowook says, “People that live off Dust from Runners at a reduced price and in exchange, help out with ship repairs and places to stay in case of an emergency. From what I understand, the Runners very rarely give away Dust for free; it’s usually in exchange for  _something_.”  
  
“I don’t mind giving them things,” Kyuhyun says with a grin, “So long as we attach a tracking device to it first. Or a bomb.”  
  
The Scientists around the table chuckle, Changmin squeezing Kyuhyun’s knee underneath the table.  
  
“You have access to whatever you need,” Yunho says, “Jongwoon has clearance to order anything at all. I’ll have Jungsu and Kangin be the go between when you’re incognito—are you okay with that?”  
  
The answer is obviously yes. Working with Yunho is an honor, but to have him offer the services of Jungsu, never mind Kangin, is something even Kyuhyun experiences rarely. He remembers only two times he’s ever met them, and both when they were on official business and too busy to do more than smile and shake his hand.  
  
Kyuhyun’s gaze settles on the Dust expert Yunho had brought and watches with a bit of amusement as Ryeowook blushes under his watch. “Carriers, fighters, personnel, whatever you want. This is a priority project. I’ll get our spies to start spreading the word about a group in need of some help. And as for the Asteroid base—their leader helps us too, sometimes, so it shouldn’t be a problem to get his help. He likes to play both sides, so he won’t say anything to the Runners.”  
  
“What about Zhou Mi?” Kyuhyun asks.  
  
“We need to find the Runners first.” Yunho looks at Changmin, “I want you on that. You and the pilot who found that transmission the last time. Scour every frequency until you have something we can use. We left them with some damage so let’s start with places that sell parts for ships, specifically parts we know they’ll need to replace. You can have access to the recordings of the skirmishes to figure that out if you don’t remember.”  
  
Changmin is already typing in data, no doubt sending a message straight to Minho. “We’ll figure out what to do when we find out where they are. I want the entire fleet on standby and ready to move at a moment’s notice.”  
  
The meeting ends not long after that, Yunho pulling Jongwoon and Siwon after him to go over the more sensitive subjects (most likely things that are too classified for Kyuhyun to know.)  
  
Ryeowook’s eyes are glued to his screen as they walk out, already rearranging his data and adding new information according to what Yunho had proposed.  
  
“Are you okay with all of this?” Kyuhyun asks, and when Ryeowook doesn’t immediately respond, pokes at his shoulder, repeating the question.  
  
“What? Oh, yes. Jongwoon’s been so helpful. We’re going to need people, though, once we start this business up. I have a few candidates in mind, and so does he, but we’re going to need more.”  
  
“I’ll find them for you,” Kyuhyun assures him, “And I’m sure Yunho has some ideas. People who are business savvy or whatever, probably a few trained espionage experts.”  
  
“Exciting,” Changmin remarks coolly.  
  
Kyuhyun represses an urge to snort. Changmin’s been reserved since Kyuhyun had handed Ryeowook the mission, and for awhile, Kyuhyun had been sure Changmin would get over it, but Changmin’s a pro at holding grudges, and this seems to be no different.  
  
“I’ll catch up with you later,” Kyuhyun says to Ryeowook, “I’ve got some things to go over with Changmin.”  
  
“We do not,” Changmin says, looking irritated.  
  
“We do,” Kyuhyun insists, latching onto Changmin’s wrist, and adds quietly, “Please.” He doesn’t want Changmin to think it’s an order.  
  
Changmin huffs and Kyuhyun takes it as acquiescence.  
  
Ryeowook gives them a distracted wave goodbye and Kyuhyun pulls Changmin into his quarters, locking the door behind him with a few commands before rounding on his friend. Boyfriend.  
  
“What is your problem?”  
  
“Nothing,” Changmin sniffs.  
  
“Changmin!”  
  
“Kyuhyun,” Changmin returns easily, and the informality of it jars Kyuhyun a little, because usually they only speak to one another like this when they’re naked. Or on leave.  
  
“Changmin,” Kyuhyun begins, “I can’t just give you all the assignments because we’re together.”  
  
“You can’t refuse to give me assignments because we’re together either!” Changmin argues, “Kyuhyun, I want to be on this ship with you, but I also want a career. I can’t have that if you keep giving all the important jobs to other people because you’re afraid that it will look like favoritism if you give them to me.”  
  
A fair point. Kyuhyun lets his momentary silence acknowledge this before stepping up closer to Changmin and laying a hand on his arm. “I’m selfish,” he starts. Changmin snorts, trying to wiggle out of Kyuhyun’s grasp. “No, listen to me. I want you on this ship. I trust you. Changmin, you know you’re a genius, I know it, and I’ve told Yunho a million times, even though I don’t need to because he knows it.”  
  
“Then why didn’t you give it to me?” Changmin demands.  
  
“Because you’d have to leave the ship!” He hadn’t meant to shout it, but there it is. “Once that project gets off the ground, Ryeowook is going to go to wherever it’s being staged and work on it there. He won’t be my comm officer anymore.”  
  
“But he’ll have a  _career_ ,” Changmin shoots back.  
  
“So you mean to say you don’t have one now?”  
  
“I mean that if I can’t do other things, I soon won’t. Kyuhyun, you  _swore_. You promised me that if I spent time on the  _Seersha_ , with you, if I stayed on as commanding officer, you’d someday let me go. So that I could be Captain too.” He takes a step closer, pressing in against Kyuhyun, taking the hand on his arm in his own. “I love you,” he whispers, “But not at the expense of you keeping me from my dream. That is not okay.”  
  
“I,” Kyuhyun murmurs, “If you could please learn how to be in two places at once, so that you can Captain a ship and be on mine at the same time—“  
  
Changmin lets out a short laugh, and Kyuhyun feels better as Changmin’s arms finally go around him.  
  
“How am I supposed to trust anyone to do what you do?” Kyuhyun asks, “Changmin, you’re irreplaceable.”  
  
“I know,” Changmin says, and Kyuhyun can feel the grin against his shoulder.  
  
For awhile, it makes him feel better, but knows that eventually, Changmin will have to have his own ship. If only because giving him one means that there will be one more genius captain to kick some Runner ass, and if there’s ever a time when the Scientist’s need that, it’s now.

 

\--

 

  
Heechul wants to kill someone.  
  
“You know what your problem is? You’re possessive,” Yoochun says, “You need to realize that not everything belongs to you. Especially people. Especially  _Jungmo_.”  
  
“Everything does belong to me. Even Jungmo. But that has nothing to do with Sungmin attaching his lips to everything that breathes.”  
  
“Harsh,” Yoochun tuts.  
  
“Truth,” Heechul replies easily. “Every time I think we’ve found a schedule so that they can avoid each other, someone finds a way to fuck it up.”  
  
It’s almost like clockwork, how often Sungmin and Jungmo crash into each other and one or both of them ends up splayed across a deck with their clothes already half off. Five minutes ago, Seungri had also been involved in the entanglement—Heechul is sure he’d never seen someone turn red that fast in his life. Of course, Heechul is sort of glad it was Jiyong’s slimy weapons/technical/something-Heechul’s-sure-must-be-useful officer. He’d been hanging around the bridge grinning lately, like he knew something Heechul didn’t and it had started to upset Heechul’s stomach. Hopefully Seungri’s been scared off.  
  
“Where’s Geunsuk?” Heechul asks, suddenly realizing his CO is nowhere to be seen.  
  
“Feeling responsible,” Yoochun says, “I imagine he’s with Sungmin.”  
  
“It’s not his fault,” Heechul grumbles.  
  
“He will keep telling you that it is,” Yoochun responds, “Now. Talk to me about this plan. Why are we involving Hangeng?”  
  
“We need him.”  
  
“We’ve never needed him.”  
  
“We need his base. We have too many ships to hide effectively between the two of us, and his base is the perfect place for launching an attack. I get that the crew doesn’t like him much, but he evens our odds considerably.”  
  
Yoochun sighs. “We don’t like him because of what he did to you.”  
  
“I’m over that,” Heechul snaps, shoving down memories several years old, “Tell the crew that they need to get over it too. We jump in an hour; pass that along.”  
  
Heechul whirls, barely registering Yoochun giving him a bow beyond the red forming in his vision, and hurls himself out into the corridor and into a lift.  
  
 _Screw this_ , he thinks. He’s the captain. It’s his decision, and if he’s okay with it, why does everyone have to drag up old arguments and grudges like they’re fucking thirteen years old. Amateurs.  
  
Yet, he still barricades himself in his quarters, rummaging through his belongings until he comes up with a box of holographs and home movies that have Hangeng’s face all through them. “Fucker,” Heechul says, more out of obligation than anything else. Yes, Hangeng betrayed him and went to form his own little rebellious faction, but Heechul’s over it. He’s with Geunsuk now—occasionally, that is. Heechul’s made it obvious that he doesn’t do relationships anymore and getting help from an old flame isn’t going to change that.  
  
—  
  
Seunghyun has Jiyong pressed down on his bed when the comm starts to buzz by their ears. They ignore the first three calls in favor of hands and tongues, but on the fourth, Jiyong groans in a way that has nothing to do with what Seunghyun’s fingers are doing, and Seunghyun sighs. “If someone isn’t dead,” he starts.  
  
Jiyong reaches up, smacking the comm button. “What?”  
  
“Sorry,” Donghae’s voice said, “Am I interrupting something?”  
  
“Yes,” Jiyong snaps, “What is it?”  
  
“We’re dropping a ‘Hole in an hour, Heechul’s orders. Boa’s gone off to the station again, so you’re in charge.”  
  
“Perfect,” Jiyong mumbles. “Fine. I’ll be up in a bit.”  
  
“Sorry for bothering you,” Donghae chirps, though he doesn’t sound it at all.  
  
Seunghyun huffs, rolling off of Jiyong and debating on either stuffing his face into a pillow or pouting until he feels like kissing again. Jiyong throws an arm across his eyes, sighing.  
  
“I have yet to decide whether or not this alliance is good.”  
  
“Good for our groups, maybe. Not so good for us.”  
  
Jiyong sighs again, adopting the pout Seunghyun had just been debating on using, and rolls into Seunghyun’s side, his breath blowing out onto Seunghyun’s arm. “I’m really not sure if I like it.”  
  
“This is for Jaejoong,” Seunghyun reminds him, adjusting himself so that they’re more comfortable.  
  
Another huff tells Seunghyun that he needn’t have said that aloud.  
  
“I haven’t seen him in awhile. Where is he?”  
  
“I have no idea. Piloting. Pretending to not be Dust sensitive. Actually, now that I think about it, Yoochun said Jaejoong and Hyunjoong were devising ways to look more convincing when they are together.”  
  
“Excellent,” Jiyong nods, “Hyunjoong’s acting sucks.”  
  
“It seemed a little obvious,” Seunghyun agrees, “But maybe that was just because we knew. Hopefully they’ll come up with some good ideas and we don’t have to worry about it.”  
  
It’s silly to say, because Jiyong always worries.  
  
A knock on the door interrupts his huff, and after pulling on clothes, Jiyong grants whomever is on the other side entrance. Seungri steps inside, grinning.  
  
“What?”  
  
“I’m supposed to make you come up to the bridge. But my precious lips were molested and so I’m only going to escort you so far before I go stay somewhere safe.” He pulls a dramatic face.  
  
Seunghyun rolls his eyes and pats Jiyong’s shoulder. “You go on. I want to shower.”  
  
“Fine,” Jiyong growls, and he leaves, the hallway echoing with Seungri’s voice as he follows after him.  
  
Seunghyun can’t hold back his snort. He loves Seungri, really, but the kid is clingy and several levels of ridiculous. If not for his brilliant tech skills, he would have been dumped on a space station a long time ago.  
  
—  
  
Zhou Mi is laying on his side, staring at the Dust covered cell bars when Sungmin walks in with food. The Scientist looks up, his expression changing from dull to semi-interested as Sungmin meets his eye.  _Progress_ , Sungmin things happily, and grins. He checks the Zhou Mi’s Dust levels first, satisfied that they’re sufficiently low.  
  
He passes over the food, and Zhou Mi immediately digs in.  
  
“I managed to sneak you some meat,” Sungmin tells him, “It’s at the bottom.”  
  
His nerves still on fire from his earlier encounter with Jungmo, Sungmin has a very hard time blocking out the moan of appreciation that slips from Zhou Mi’s lips. He shifts a bit, angling his body away and even though he hadn’t meant for Zhou Mi to notice, he does.  
  
“Are you okay?”  
  
“Little problem earlier,” Sungmin shrugs, “I’ll be fine.”  
  
“Are you ever going to tell me about this problem you have? You tell me about everything else.”  
  
“Curious?” Sungmin asks. He really hadn’t meant for the conversation to go here, but if it gets Zhou Mi to talk…  
  
“I am,” Zhou Mi admits. “What would I do if something happened to you, Sungmin? No one else brings me food.”  
  
Sungmin laughs easily. “Alright. I guess it’s only fair, since everyone else on the ship knows.”  
  
“Should I get comfortable?”  
  
“Can you?” Sungmin asks, with a raised eyebrow. He doesn’t think so—it’s a brig after all, and Zhou Mi just smiles at him, perhaps mysteriously.  
  
“I guess my story starts with Jungmo,” Sungmin begins. “He’s a sort of human aphrodisiac, though technically what he controls is hormones. He arouses anything that has a heartbeat, and unfortunately, because hormones are wild, his control over them is also a bit wild.”  
  
Zhou Mi nods, “I’ve heard as much about him.”  
  
From spies, Sungmin assumes, and tries not to think too hard about that. If he does his job right, they’ll be rooted out in no time. “Most people can control themselves around him,” he continues, with a wave of his hand. “But I’m. Different.”  
  
“You can’t?” Zhou Mi asks, and he looks interested as he leans in, perhaps even a little concerned.  
  
“The hormones in my body are all screwed up. I have to take medication to keep them regulated.”  
  
“Is it a condition you were born with?”  
  
“No,” Sungmin says sourly, “Before I joined Heechul, I worked for Geunsuk. We were scouting out an area on Pluto when the Scientists attacked.”  
  
“You were a Runner then?”  
  
“Not at the time,” Sungmin admits, “Just a government worker inspecting old nuclear development sites. Though, I was on the team as a medical officer, not as a nuclear specialist. There were apparently Runners there at the time, however, which is why we were attacked. We hailed them to warn them about the nuclear material we were trying to dispose of, but we couldn’t get through.”  
  
“Did they hit it? I don’t remember any reports about—“  
  
“They didn’t,” Sungmin says, “But they hit the ground near it, and I’m still not exactly sure what happened, but some of the nuclear waste reacted with Dust and while it didn’t explode, caused a lot of weird shit to happen and I unfortunately got caught in the middle of it. My health has never quite been the same.”  
  
“You were the only one?” Zhou Mi asks, and he’s on the floor now, looking ready to reach out and give Sungmin a hug.  
  
“Everyone else was in a contained area. Geunsuk had just asked me to go out there for some samples because he couldn’t spare any of his people, and then it happened. He feels responsible because of that, but really, there’s no way he could have known.”  
  
Zhou Mi’s smile is gone, and Sungmin now feels like he should start handing out hugs himself. Zhou Mi reaches out a hand, as if to touch Sungmin’s arm or leg or (God forbid) his face, but Sungmin shies away. “When I bump into Jungmo, my hormones go crazy. I can’t control myself and anyone in my general vicinity is at risk. I think I’ve kissed everyone on board at least once.”  
  
“Not everyone,” Zhou Mi jokes, sliding closer, clearly meaning that Sungmin hasn’t kissed him.  
  
“If you don’t stop and move back up to your cot, it will be everyone,” Sungmin warns carefully, “I’m still very sensitive from when I saw Jungmo earlier today.”  
  
Zhou Mi doesn’t move to his cot, but he does scoot back several feet. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Not your fault,” Sungmin points out, “But I really don’t want to get in trouble for harassing a prisoner.”  
  
“You’re not harassing me. Besides, even if you were, I don’t think anyone would care.”  
  
His smile returns, and it makes Sungmin feel better. He clears his throat. “So, did you like the manwhas I brought?”  
  
 _End of discussion, moving on, let’s not talk about it again._  
  
“No,” Zhou Mi says, “You can take them back.”  
  
“Aw,” Sungmin pouts, “Those are my favorite ones.”  
  
“Then you should be glad that you’re getting them back.”  
  
“I’ll bring you more tomorrow,” Sungmin says, standing and putting the empty bowls back on the tray. “I’ll find something you like.”  
  
“Good luck.”  
  
Sungmin feels Zhou Mi’s eyes on him as he leaves. He can guess what’s going on in the Scientist’s head. No one had permission to speak with Zhou Mi except Sungmin. No questioning, no torture, no one but Sungmin who brings him two meals a day and occasionally lets him out to shower and stretch his legs.  
  
The tactic is to get the prisoner close to one person so they start to feel a bond of trust. Sungmin has done it so many times it’s a routine he could accomplish in his sleep. It’s also a routine he can recognize instantly, and he finds himself amused by the fact that despite being a prisoner, Zhou Mi is trying to do the same thing to him.  
  
He decides, after he’s done being a little horrified by the thought that it might actually be working, that he doesn’t particularly care.  
  
—  
  
The trip to Hangeng’s base is short.  
  
Everyone holds their breath as they drop out of the ‘Hole, Jaejoong dipping them perfectly, hiding just underneath the Scientist sensors that ring parts of the Belt. Someone whistles appreciatively.  
  
“They’re hailing.”  
  
Heechul waves his hand and waits for Sungmin to establish a connection. The Captain tries very hard to keep calm as Hangeng’s face materializes onto the screen with a soft hum from the comm speakers. “Heechul-ah,” Hangeng says smoothly, with a soft smile that makes Heechul’s stomach drop. “It’s been forever.”  
  
 _Not long enough_ , is what Heechul thinks, and wishes they didn’t have to do this. “It has,” he agrees carefully.  
  
“I’ve been hearing some rumors,” Hangeng admits, “But I didn’t believe them until now. Are you actually sharing your profit?”  
  
“Are you going to allow us to dock?” Heechul asks, not willing to talk unless he gets what he wants.  
  
“Of course I am,” Hangeng grins. “I’ll see you in a bit. Tell your pilot not to scratch anything on your way in.”  
  
Jaejoong opens his mouth to reply, but the connection is cut.  
  
Two fighters escort them down, and Jaejoong navigates the hideout perfectly. It’s balanced precariously between several of the larger asteroids with a gravity field set up around it so as to keep smaller rocks from slipping in between the structures and smashing them to bits.  
  
Heechul’s honestly not sure how the science of it all works out. He just knows that Hangeng’s engineer is a genius and Heechul wishes he’d found her first.  
  
Jaejoong takes the  _Ikati_  in with no trouble at all, weaving around the complicated spires of metal, and settling easily at the dock Hangeng had cleared for them. Heechul takes him and Hyunjoong as part of the boarding party. Jungmo and Henry tag along as well, and so as to balance out the two factions, alliance or no, Jiyong also accompanies them. Which naturally means that Seunghyun follows. So Heechul latches onto Geunsuk’s arm when he passes him in the corridor and drags him along as well. Kim Heechul is never one to be outdone.  
  
Hangeng’s waiting for them when they lower the ramp and walk out into his hangar bay. He bows, a wide smile on his face, and he extends his hand. Heechul ignores it, not wanting to touch any part of Hangeng.  
  
“Heechul,” Hangeng greets, taking away his hand, “What brings you all the way here? Do you have some Dust for me?”  
  
“Not yet,” Heechul drawls carefully. “You’ve met Jiyong, I presume.”  
  
They apparently had, and Heechul is not at all surprised, though they clearly are not close, because all they do is nod politely in one another’s direction. To Henry, Hangeng gives a tight hug, and as he escorts them down a hallway and into a conference room, the two converse together in excited whispers, even as everyone sits down. Heechul really wants to hit both of them.  
  
“So why are you here? Besides showing off your new allies, I mean.”  
  
“We need your base,” Heechul tells him.  
  
“It’s not for sale,” Hangeng replies, eyes narrowing, “Nor will it ever be.”  
  
“I don’t want to buy it, that isn’t what I meant. We’re raiding a huge haul of Dust scheduled to fly by here.”  
  
Hangeng sits back. “You want to use my base as a stage for your shady operation?”  
  
“That’s what I said,” Heechul says, sitting back himself, and crossing his arms. “We’ll give you a cut if you want it.”  
  
“I’m not sure that’s enough for me,” Hangeng says, “Using my base endangers my people. I’m not sure that I’m okay with that, even if it does mean getting a ton of Dust. I have a lot of things here that I need to protect.”  
  
Heechul resists an urge to snort.  
  
“The Dust is for the Scientist,” Henry cuts in, “Specifically for him. If we can get this, it will be a huge blow.”  
  
“I realize that, but I’m not really sure it’s worth it.”  
  
“Then what can we give you in exchange for your help?” Heechul asks, already exasperated.  
  
Hangeng appears to think for a moment, before standing, stretching his arms above his head and smiling. “Let me show you something that I think you’ll find very interesting.”  
  
—  
  
Hangeng leads them out of the room and down a corridor, weaving and ducking around bulkheads. Seunghyun’s sure he won’t be able to find his way back alone, even if he tries to memorize the feel of the hearts along the way.  
  
“We’re not really sure how it happened,” Hangeng says, completely serious, “We’ve been trying to replicate it but it’s proving to be difficult. We’re missing one key ingredient.”  
  
“This already sounds complicated,” Heechul grouses, and Seunghyun can see where his fingernails are digging irritably into Geunsuk’s arm.  
  
"It is," Hangeng nods.  
  
Seunghyun slides his hand into Jiyong's as they venture further into dark corridors, and the small squeeze he receives reassures him more than words.  
  
They're led into a small room and Seunghyun notes, with a bit of apprehension, that Jiyong is fingering his sidearm. Seunghyun takes a moment to calm Jiyong’s heartbeat, knowing that, were they to be surprised by anything, it would give them an edge.  
  
The room itself is sealed off from the rest of the compound, the walls Dust-enhanced with only one way in or out. There’s a pedestal in the center of the room that the group filters around and Seunghyun’s apprehension is won out only by his sudden curiosity.  
  
Hangeng hits the lights. For a moment, as they're plunged into darkness, fear seizes Seunghyun, and he thinks  _he tricked us, we’re dead, Scientists are going to come barging in_  but then—  
  
A light appears in the center of the room and it takes Seunghyun a moment to realize that it's coming up out of the pedestal, surrounded by a Dust shield that fizzles every few seconds, clearly containing some sort of unseen field of energy so it doesn't leak out into the room.  
  
It looks terribly familiar and he stiffens, his fingers tightening against Jiyong's.  
  
"What," Heechul stutters, "Is that Dust?"  
  
"A highly concentrated form of it," Hangeng tells them, sounding smug.  
  
It's not like Jaejoong's Dust, Seunghyun can automatically tell. Jaejoong’s Dust is a lot more potent, and a lot more stable, as it doesn't require a shield. But this is clearly not your average speck of refined Dust cultivated for general consumption.  
  
"You made this?" Heechul asks, stepping closer.  
  
"Accidentally," Hangeng nods.  
  
"Oh God," Jaejoong says, suddenly, and Seunghyun feels his stomach drop as Jaejoong, too, takes a step forward, "You made it? I thought—“  
  
Seunghyun thumps Jaejoong’s heart wildly to get him to shut up, even though it only makes the slip up easier to spot. Hangeng turns to them just as Heechul does and Seunghyun feels dread seep through him.  
  
"What was that?" Heechul asks sharply.  
  
Seunghyun holds his breath.  
  
Jaejoong blinks, clearly attempting to look innocent. "What?"  
  
Heechul scowls, "What were you going to say?"  
  
"Nothing," Jaejoong says, a little too quickly, stepping back.  
  
"I  _will_  shoot you in the head," Heechul warns, and Seunghyun notes with little bit of alarm, that Heechul has his hand on his gun. “I swear to God, Jaejoong, if you’ve been lying to me about anything regarding Dust I will put a bullet through your goddamn head.”  
  
“He didn’t lie,” Hyunjoong says firmly, sliding in closer to Jaejoong.  
  
Seunghyun contemplates, for perhaps a millisecond, jumping in to confirm this, but with the tension in the air, he thinks it’s better if he remains silent and gets some answers out of Hangeng about what this Dust is and how it came into his possession.  
  
“You’ve seen this before?” Hangeng asks, from where he’s leaning ever so carefully against the pedestal.  
  
“Not this in particular,” Jaejoong says, casting a wary glance at Heechul, “But something similar.”  
  
“Where?” Hangeng asks.  
  
“Space,” Hyunjoong says, vaguely.  
  
“Where specifically?” Hangeng asks, pulling out a data pad, ready to enter the coordinates.  
  
“I don’t think I’m going to tell you,” Jaejoong answers, and steps closer to the speck of Dust hovering in the center of the room. “It’s a little different. Less.”  
  
Seunghyun casts a wary glance at Heechul. His fingers are twitching but they haven’t grabbed anything lethal yet, and after a moment, he relaxes. “What do you mean less? Less powerful? Or you found more of it?”  
  
Jaejoong just smiles. “You made this?” He questions Hangeng again.  
  
“Yes,” Hangeng says, “But unfortunately, we have no idea how. Which is why I’m showing it to you. I will let you use this base whenever you like if in exchange, you help me figure out what makes up this Dust.”  
  
He gives Jaejoong a very pointed glare, “And how to get more of it.”  
  
—  
  
Jaejoong should have expected that Heechul wouldn’t just let it go so easily.  
  
Once they’re back on the  _Ikati_ , Heechul orders him and Hyunjoong to his quarters, and although Jaejoong sends pleading eyes towards Seunghyun and Jiyong, they are ignored in favor of the safety of their own ship.  
  
“You  _will_  tell me everything you know about this Dust,” Heechul says, “Or there will be severe and unpleasant consequences.”  
  
“We only know as much as you do,” Hyunjoong assures the captain, “It exists but we don’t know how.”  
  
“That is not what I meant.  _How_  do you know about it’s existence and  _why_  did you not tell anyone about it?”  
  
Jaejoong exchanges an uneasy glance with Hyunjoong before deciding that perhaps half the truth is necessary to get Heechul off their backs. “They found me in it.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“The place we found Jaejoong has extremely potent Dust,” Hyunjoong says. “It’s the reason Seunghyun and I were fighting. We found the Dust first and while battling, came across Jaejoong and his ship.”  
  
“And you just left the Dust there?” Heechul asks, a little incredulously.  
  
“I left sensors that will alert me if anyone comes upon it. No one has in three years.”  
  
“But why is it still there? Why is it not with me?”  
  
Jaejoong tries to be patient and not flee the room in terror of getting shot. “Because,” he says, “That Dust is mine, and when I woke up, I didn’t know what the hell was going on, so I left it there until I figured out what I wanted to do with it.”  
  
“And the only reason it’s still there,” Hyunjoong cuts in, before Heechul can explode, “Is because we’re fighting. If we have all that Dust, and we lose, then we’ve  _lost_. But if we lose and we have that Dust, then we have a second chance.”  
  
“So it’s staying there,” Jaejoong says, “Until we’re in dire need of it.”  
  
Heechul finally sits down, and Jaejoong relaxes a bit, even though he probably shouldn’t. “I want,” Heechul begins, “Full specs for this Dust. I acknowledge that it’s yours, and while I may not like it, I understand why you’ve kept it secret. But now I know, and if I have an ace up my sleeve, then I’d like to know exactly what sort of ace it is.”  
  
“Agreed,” Jaejoong says, “But I’m not giving you the coordinates.”  
  
“Fair enough,” Heechul nods, “But if we ever need it and you will not let us at it, I will not hesitate to use whatever means necessary to get that information out of you.”  
  
“If you ever need it,” Jaejoong returns easily, “I will not hold back.”

 

\--

 

  


Kyuhyun decides that after Changmin, Minho is without a doubt the most useful person on the  _Seersha_. Which, he thinks, means that Minho is also never allowed to become a captain. Kyuhyun might cry if he were to ever lose  _both_  Changmin and Minho.

“You found something!” He says, as soon as he bursts into Minho’s quarters, finding him and Changmin leaning over a screen.

Minho doesn’t smile, but he looks slightly optimistic. “It’s promising, but a little tricky to sort out.”

Kyuhyun sits down beside them, glancing first at the screen and then the datapad Minho hands him. “What is this?” That it’s Heechul’s ship is as clear as day, but  _where it is_ —that’s the problem.

“We don’t know. Yet. But what’s important is that it was sent to us!”

“By our informant?” Kyuhyun asks. As thankful as he is for this person, they’re giving Kyuhyun unnecessary migraines. He needs more information then he’s being sent.

He scrutinizes the picture a bit more closely, playing the trombone as it were, trying to see if different angles make it easier to see.

“We think,” Changmin says, “That they’re either hiding out in Saturn’s Rings or they’re somewhere in the Asteroid Belt.” The ship is obviously at a docking bay, whomever had taken the picture aiming out towards space, a few blurry objects floating behind it. “We think those are asteroids. We’re not sure just yet.”

“It narrows it down, anyway,” Kyuhyun nods.

“We’ve sent it out to reconnaissance and Minho has someone checking the position of the stars. Just waiting to hear back.”

“Good. Hopefully we’ll get some results. I’m tired of cat and mouse. I’m tired of the mouse always getting away.”

Changmin smiles at him. “Me too.”

“Any word from this mysterious spy about Zhou Mi?”

Minho’s face darkens, if only slightly, and he shakes his head. “I’m sure he’s alive. They’d be stupid to kill him. And I’m sure he’s managing well enough. They accidentally picked the worst person to take prisoner.”

Or the best, depending on how you look at it. Zhou Mi, the stamina Duster, able to resist just about anything inflicted upon his body, even Dust repression drugs. A few years ago, Kyuhyun had once mistaken Zhou Mi for a Runner, after picking him up in an escape pod shooting towards Earth. Zhou Mi wouldn’t tell him how he got there, so Kyuhyun tossed him in a brig, shot him up with Dust repression drugs, and had been surprised that night by Zhou Mi holding a knife to his throat, somehow able to get out of his cell and make it to the captain’s quarters without sounding any alarms.

No, Zhou Mi is fine. If he hasn’t already broken out of wherever he’s at and come home, then he has a reason to stay where he is. He has a plan. And Kyuhyun has always loved Zhou Mi’s plans.

—

“Here,” Sungmin pushes three volumes of manwha into Zhou Mi’s hands.

“No food?” Zhou Mi asks, frowning. “I don’t really care for reading. I’m hungry.”

“Food is being rationed out,” Sungmin says, “You get whatever’s leftover, so once the mess is empty, I’ll go and get you some. I just really wanted to bring you these. I hate them, so I thought maybe you’d like them, since last time you didn’t read the ones I loved.”

“I don’t like manwha. Period. Regardless of what it is.” Zhou Mi hands back the volumes, mouth set firmly. “Bring me food and maybe I will like you again.”

Sungmin gapes, pretending to be a little miffed. “Are you actually making demands of me?”

“Yes. I can site fair prisoner of war regulation, if you’d like.”

“We don’t follow regulation,” Sungmin reminds him, and puts the books on the ground, the sound of it echoing a little.

Zhou Mi’s face falls for a spilt second, before his smile is back, though dimmer. “I forgot,” he says, and sits back against the brick wall, tucking his feet underneath himself. “You’re certainly nice enough to me.”

“I pity you,” Sungmin says, still acting aloof, but he can’t keep it up for long, and he dissolves into laughter. He takes a tentative step forward, and then sits beside Zhou Mi, laying a hand on his knee. “You’re just here so that you’re not in the fight,” he says, and he thinks he plays the part of sympathetic jailer well. “I should be sorry that it’s you, but I’m not. You’ve been excellent company, even if I only see you during meal times.”

“Do you have no friends? That’s so sad.”

Zhou Mi’s fingers dance lightly across the top of Sungmin’s hand, and it takes everything in Sungmin’s power to not jolt from the sparks of electricity that run up his arm. He swallows, squeezing Zhou Mi’s thigh lightly, and standing up. “I have friends,” he says, “But not ones so sexy as you.”

He leaves Zhou Mi gaping, quite proud of himself, and outside the brig, where Zhou Mi can’t see, collapses onto the floor, clutching his heart, blood racing. “Are you okay?” the guard asks Sungmin, looking concerned.

“I’m fine. I just forgot to take my medication today.”

A lie, if there ever was one, but the guard doesn’t need to know that. He scoots an appropriate distance away. Sungmin hauls himself up on his feet, gulping down air in order to calm his pulse. He’s fine. There’s no Dust. No Jungmo. He’s fine.  _Stop being stupid,_  he chastises his body,  _He’s a prisoner that you need to interrogate. That you need to report._

Yes. Report.

Sungmin heads straight for Heechul’s quarters, checking with Geunsuk on the way to make sure that Jungmo isn’t there. “He’s on the bridge ordering some newbies around and enjoying himself far too much.” Clearly, Jungmo has too much fun when Heechul leaves him in charge, and it makes Sungmin grin.

He buzzes for permission to enter when he gets to Heechul’s quarters and the door opens with a slight hiss. He greets Heechul and Jiyong, both captains sitting on a couch, poring over maps and readouts spread out on the coffee table and spilling onto the floor.

“How is he?” Heechul asks, as soon as Sungmin sits down opposite them.

“Hungry,” Sungmin says, “I wish you’d let me give him food. We can’t just all of a sudden start feeding him one meal a day.”

“Yes, we can,” Heechul says, “Just tell him I’m rationing, or something. He’s a prisoner of war, not a guest of honor. One meal a day until you can get something useful out of him.” Heechul narrows his eyes, “Have you, yet?”

“No.”

Jiyong sighs, “I’d like Daesung to give it a try, if you don’t mind. He’s good at extracting information out of people.”

Sungmin gives an involuntary shiver. Daesung’s ability to affect seratonin levels is legendary: Sungmin has heard many stories of Daesung making people extremely happy while he pulled off their fingernails with pliers. “Befriending people works really well,” Sungmin says, trying to keep his voice even, “It’s almost as good as using sex, but I’ve tried that too and it usually has ugly repercussions.”

“I wasn’t suggesting torture,” Jiyong says, sounding exasperated, “Daesung is good at making people  _happy_. Happy people talk.”

“I’m close,” Sungmin assures him, “At least he’s out of the fight. One less Duster for you to worry about.”

Heechul gives him a once over. “Don’t get attached, Sungmin.”

“I’m not,” Sungmin sniffs, trying very hard not to think of Zhou Mi’s hand on his own. “Not at all.”

—

Boa loves draping herself over Yunho as he’s sleeping. There’s something relaxing about rising and falling with his chest, feeling his breath flutter against her hair, and as he slowly wakes up, his arms coming around her to push her off. It’s always a tussle, but a welcome one, and she usually ends up squished underneath him, laughing, as he asks her, “Why do you always do this? Does this feel good to you? Why do you weigh two hundred pounds? I should stop buying you dinner.”

A kiss always shuts him up, placates him, and so long as they have no plans, it leads to something more. Something much more satisfying. And then one of them must inevitably leave.

“I’ll be gone for awhile,” Boa tells him, trying to focus past his fingers trailing up and down her side. “Someone screwed up a purchase for some art and I have to go fix it.” It’s a lie, but she can’t tell him she’s going to steal his Dust, even if they are fucking.

Yunho laughs a little in her ear. “You have to leave soon?”

He’s an expert pouter.

“I,” she stutters, “Well, I was going to…”

He presses in a bit for a kiss. “I’ll miss you.”

And she’ll miss him, but her mouth is far too busy to vocalize that. She supposes she could be late. She’s leader, after all.

It’s another hour before she manages to get out of bed. She’s pretty sure she’s glowing, if the way Yunho stares at her is anything to go by. “You really have to go?” He asks again, and he seems genuinely upset. The way he pets the edge of the blanket makes it so real.

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“I see how it is,” He grumbles.

She crawls onto the bed to kiss him again, pants half on, and shirt tangled around her neck. “You’re the most adorable thing ever,” he tells her, and her body throbs as his hand rubs against the strap of her bra.

“You’re the most distracting thing ever,” she hisses.

_Jiyong’s probably going to mutiny,_  she thinks, and let’s Yunho pull her back down onto the bed.

—

Zhou Mi’s proud of himself.

Sungmin can’t seem to keep his mouth shut, and Zhou Mi’s learned a lot about how the Runner’s work, about the different types of Dusters they have, and a lot about Sungmin himself. The last bit of information about Sungmin’s health had been particularly interesting, and Zhou Mi has started using it, brushing up against the runner when he can, leaning in close, whispering into his ear. He’s pretty sure it’s driving Sungmin crazy.

Zhou Mi flares his Dust, beating down the drugs, and his head clears a little more. He had of course hoped that Jaejoong would be the one to feed him and give him drugs—Zhou Mi had been watching him for so long, after all—but following his initial disappointment, he had realized that it’s probably best to not have contact with Jaejoong just yet. Zhou Mi knows nothing of how Jaejoong’s gotten along these past few years or even if he knows who Zhou Mi is.

If Zhou Mi’s lucky, he’ll be able to get Sungmin to blurt out the identity of the brain Duster and Zhou Mi can nab him, or her, as well as Jaejoong.

And maybe convince Sungmin to tag along. Zhou Mi would really like that.

—

Heechul corners Sungmin on his way back from the brig. “Captain,” Sungmin says formally, with a little bow. He’s clearly not at all himself.

“I told you not to get attached.”

“I’m not.”

Heechul grabs Sungmin’s wrist and slams him up against a wall, pressing up against him, their noses brushing. “Your body,” Heechul hisses, grinding his hips a bit for emphasis, “Tells me otherwise. I might just be a voice Duster, but I know you, Sungmin. I  _know_  you. If you’re going to get attached, at least make use of it and get me some information that I can use.”

Sungmin’s head had fallen back, his eyes fluttering shut and Heechul watches Sungmin’s adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “I will,” Sungmin says. Heechul can feel the way Sungmin’s throat has partially closed up, the way the blood is rushing around it, the way his mouth is a little bit dry. He knows it’s not for him.

“If you’ve decided to change tactics, that’s fine. Just keep me informed, and get me some results.”

“I haven’t, I swear,” Sungmin breathes, and Heechul presses up against him more, making Sungmin whine, “ _Hyung_.”

“You need to make a decision, Sungmin. You’re on edge every minute of every day, and normally I wouldn’t care, but because it’s  _you_ , it’s dangerous. Do I make myself clear?”

Sungmin kisses him first, winding a hand into Heechul’s hair, and moaning low in his throat, a sound that makes Heechul’s Dust reverberate in his body. The captain’s a sucker for noise, that’s for sure, and Sungmin knows it.

“I’m busy,” he murmurs, as Sungmin’s teeth pull on his earlobe.

“I don’t care,” Sungmin replies, breath hot against his ear.

“Sungmin, I have to get to the bridge.” Heechul pulls away and adds, just incase Sungmin thinks he’s lying, “I need to supervise a trip to Mars. If you need something, find someone else.”

It’s cruel, because technically, Heechul had started it, but there are plenty of people on board that wouldn’t mind giving Sungmin a little attention. It would be for all the wrong reasons—it’s well known that he’s an easy lay, with all of his hormonal problems—but Sungmin’s not a slut, Heechul’s sure of it. At least, not most of the time.

“Sungmin.”

Sungmin pulls away, frowning. “Fine.”

“Go back to your prisoner and suck his face off. And then get some information out of him. Put your insatiability to good use.”

“I’m trying,” Sungmin sniffs, wiping discreetly at his mouth. “I’ll be up for my shift in awhile.”

“Save it,” Heechul waves him off, “Junhyung can take your shift. You think of ways to get Zhou Mi to talk.”

“I’m just going to sleep if I’m not on duty.”

“Dream of ways then. Just stay off my bridge. At this point, I don’t think you’ll need Jungmo to kiss random people that you pass by.”

An unfortunate truth that Sungmin seems to recognize. “Goodnight, Captain.”

Heechul only huffs.

—

The information they need comes from Ryeowook.

“You are amazing and so fast,” Kyuhyun says, a little awed.

“Thank Changmin,” Minho says, with a mysterious look in his eyes Kyuhyun really wants to question. But he doesn’t have time. A much clearer picture of the  _Ikati_  is up on his viewer, and it’s in a docking bay that, according to Ryeowook, is in the Asteroid Belt where he wants to set up his fake shop.

“Has anyone commed Yunho?”

“Yes, but we can’t get ahold of him.”

Kyuhyun’s sure he’s busy doing something important. They’ll wait until he calls them back, if only because Kyuhyun wants to do this right. “Send this out to the fleet. I want all ships ready to drop a ‘Hole the second I say. Changmin!” His boyfriend whirls, a fire in his eyes Kyuhyun’s glad to see come back, “I need a plan.”

“Already working on one.”

As expected, Kyuhyun thinks, glowing a little. “Keep trying to get ahold of Yunho. I’m going to get in touch with the owner of that docking bay.” A risky endeavor, but if Kyuhyun can provide the owner with enough incentive, then it just might work in both of their favors.

He makes the call in his quarters, listening to the hum of the Dust line before it connects. He has to work his way through several people before a familiar face pops up onto his Dust screen.

“Hangeng,” Kyuhyun says, mind racing. This does not bode well.

“Cho Kyuhyun,” Hangeng grins, “It’s been forever. How are you?”

Kyuhyun frowns. “Do I need to answer that?”

“The bags under your eyes are telling,” Hangeng nods, “What can I do for you?”

“There’s a ship in one of your spaceports that I want.”

“The  _Ikati_ ,” Hangeng says, without missing a beat. Kyuhyun watches him pick up a tea cup and sip at it, acting the perfect smug bastard. “Your intelligence is as impeccable as ever. But you won’t get into my compound with your ships or your guns. You know that.”

“I’m willing to trade.”

Hangeng snorts, “You want me to betray an old friend who’s come to me for repairs on his ship?”

Kyuhyun does not at all believe that repairs are the only thing Heechul wants. “Hangeng, I know you get some Dust from them, but you help us too, everyone once and awhile.”

“When it’s worth it,” Hangeng corrects, “I don’t play both sides for the fun of it.”

“I know. You’ll be paid for your trouble.”

“What do you want,” Hangeng asks, “And what will you give me?”

“I want you to keep him distracted and grounded. You can pick your reward. Dust. Workers. Money, if that’s your thing. Also, us not blowing you out of the sky, which I can do, if I call enough ships.”

Hangeng sets his tea down, the sound slightly delayed over the Dust waves. “You would never blast me into space ash, Kyuhyun, I’m far too valuable an asset for you, even if I don’t give you what you want, which I don’t think I am. What they’re offering me is so much better.”

Kyuhyun really wants to ask him what that is, but he refuses to take Hangeng’s bait. He suspects it has something to do with the brain Duster, anyhow, and no one can top that. At least not yet.

“If you send some Dust my way and leave my station out of it without harming me or my people, than I promise to tell you Heechul’s destination. The one he’ll be at in approximately an hour.”

“He’s leaving?”

“Yes,” Hangeng grins, “He’ll be back, but for a short period of time, he and his new friends will be all by themselves…” he trails off, raising an eyebrow and Kyuhyun knows it’ll cost a fortune in Dust to get him to finish that sentence.

“Why aren’t you giving him supplies?”

“That wasn’t part of our agreement. Do you want to know where he’s going or not?”

“Fifty kilos of Dust.”

“One hundred,” Hangeng demands, “This is precious information, Kyuhyun.”

“Seventy-five.”

“One hundred. I am not fodder you can push around with your political chopsticks. My price is my price, Kyuhyun, take it or leave it.”

“Fine. One hundred.”

“They’re going to Mars. They’ll be there for half the day. I better have that Dust as soon as they leave, because when he beats your ass, I don’t want him to see you delivering it.”

Kyuhyun rolls his eyes. “I’ll make sure you get it while they’re gone. But you don’t have to worry. This time, I’m going to get him for sure.”

—

Seunghyun is fiddling with the sensors of Heechul’s ship, watching the skies around Mars carefully, waiting for Heechul to get back with the supplies. He had commed moments before to say that they had acquired their purchases and were on their way back.

“How far out are they?”

Daesung’s standing behind him, smiling as he always is, and Seunghyun glances at the clock, doing some quick calculations. “Fifteen minutes. Why?”

“Something isn’t right.”

That gives Seunghyun a little pause. Daesung’s always been more of an introspective person, speaking up only when he knows he’s right or in dire emergencies. “What?”

“No one’s happy. Not when we left, not now. Even Hangeng’s smile was incredibly forced. There’s something he knows that he isn’t telling us.”

Seunghyun doesn’t even question it, buzzing for officers to get up to the bridge. Yoochun is the first to show up, Yoobin in tow.

“What’s up?”

“Not sure,” Seunghyun says, “But Daesung says something’s off.”

Yoochun gives them a weird look, but trundles over to his pilot’s chair, sitting Yoobin against him comfortably. “Nothing’s wrong here.”

Sungmin bursts in next, looking a little wild and he’s followed by Jiyong. The situation is explained, and while Sungmin also looks confused, Jiyong’s face darkens. “Scientists?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” Daesung shrugs, and he sits himself down at the tech console, “But everyone is tense and unhappy. That’s never a good sign.”

They run a quick diagnostics and do a scan of the ship, but find nothing irregular. Sungmin does a few preliminary scans of the Mars spaceport and Jiyong hacks into a few Dust channels, but neither of them find anything wrong.

“Should we contact Hangeng?” Daesung asks.

“I’d say not without Heechul,” Yoochun says, “But if you’re sure something’s wrong, then I say let’s do it.”

It takes a moment to get ahold of Hangeng, but when they do, the look on his face tells Seunghyun everything he needs to know. “What did you do?”

“Nothing that violated our contract, I assure you.”

“Hangeng,” Yoochun says, “You will tell us everything you know or the deal is off.”

Hangeng leans forward, grinning a little, “I thought you needed me?”

“We’ll make due.”

He laughs, sitting back. “If you wait just a little longer, you won’t have to find another place to attack. You’ll be able to do it from right where you are, and if you do it correctly, you’ll be able to wipe out quite a large portion of the Scientist fleet.”

The bridge is silent for a moment, and it’s only broken by a sudden beeping from Sungmin’s console. Seunghyun’s heart is pounding in fear, and it’s not until he realizes that everyone else’s is doing the same thing that Sungmin lets out a shriek of dismay. “The spaceport shields are up! And the one around Mars.”

It cuts off their transmission with Hangeng and Seughyun grinds his teeth, resolving to get answers later. “They’d normally announce that, right?”

It’s a stupid question. If it isn’t announced, ships in the path of the shield are in danger of being split in two, and the only logical reason they don’t know has to be because someone doesn’t want them to know. “Sungmin,” Yoochun says, “See if we can pierce those shields and get a reading on anything that might be in the sky.”

The comm beeped and a second later, as Sungmin’s hands flew over his boards, Heechul’s very anxious face appeared on the screen. “What is going on?”

“Both shields are up. We’re getting a reading on—“

“Shit!”

Seunghyun twists in time to see Sungmin’s mouth drop. “It’s Kyuhyun.”

Heechul had clearly heard, because he’s swearing and the image becomes shaky as he starts to run. “We’ll be there in two minutes.”

The connection dies. “Daesung,” Jiyong orders, “Come with me. We’ll help them load everything onto the ship.”

Alarms start to go off as they exit, Sungmin regulating them. “Do you think he’s here for us?”

It’s not likely he came upon them by accident, especially if Hangeng knew that Kyuhyun would be there. Seunghyun sets his jaw. If they try and make a run for it, they’re screwed, because while they might be able to crack the codes for the spaceport shields, doing so for the ones around Mars is something else entirely.

But they also can’t sit still.

“Let’s prep the ship,” Seunghyun orders, “And if anyone has any ideas on how to make it out of this alive, now would be the perfect time to bring them forth.”

Heechul runs onto the bridge a full five minutes after he had commed. “Going to  _kill_  Hangeng,” he gasps, and Seunghyun knows that someone briefed him. “Situation?”

“Kyuhyun’s just hovering over Mars for now,” Sungmin says, bringing up a fuzzy image of the dreaded vessel, “But he obviously knows we’re here.”

“I do not like how he always shows up,” Jaejoong says, as he enters the bridge as well, Hyunjoong trailing behind him.

“At least he’s not doing anything?” Sungmin offers.

“I don’t think that’s a plus,” Jaejoong argues, “Knowing Kyuhyun, it means he has a plan, and his plans are never good things. Not for us.”

As if on cue, Seunghyun’s board beeps, and he lets out another curse as he sees Jung Yunho’s flagship drop out of a ‘Hole right beside Kyuhyun’s. There’s no need to announce it; everyone can see the viewer just fine. They need to get out of there.

Another beep and Seunghyun’s heart speeds up as two more ships drop into Mars’ orbit. He knows it’s only a matter of time before Jieun’s ship arrive, and maybe the entire fleet.

“We need the codes to the shields,” Heechul says. “The only way we’re going to get out of here alive is if we take those shields out on our own instead of waiting for Kyuhyun to order them raised. We can’t fight off a whole fleet of ships, even with Hyunjoong.”

Hyunjoong whom they know as the brain Duster, Seunghyun reminds himself, after a moment of confusion, not Jaejoong. “How do you know he can’t?” Seunghyun demands, “Hyunjoong, can you do that?”

“No,” Hyunjoong says immediately, “But if we act quick, I can fend them off long enough to get us somewhere safe.”

Seunghyun wonders if he had been talking with Jaejoong about a brain Duster’s limits or if Hyunjoong is just guessing. A raised eyebrow thrown in Jaejoong’s direction gets him a short nod in return and Seunghyun calms his heart.

“I can hack the spaceport shield,” Jiyong says, “That’s not a problem. But we need the codes for the other one. No one here knows them.”

“Not here,” Jaejoong says, and his eyes come to rest on Sungmin, “But we do have someone in the brig that might know them.”

Zhou Mi.

“Maybe,” Sungmin conceded, “But he’s so close to trusting me right now, I don’t think—“

“Sungmin, we’re really close to dying.”

Without waiting for permission, Jaejoong spins on his heel, latches onto Hyunjoong’s hand, and runs out of the bridge.

“Shit,” Sungmin hisses, “Jaejoong, wait!”

Seunghyun decides he’s of much better use where he his, and desperately hopes that Jaejoong isn’t going to do anything stupid.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Sungmin careens down the hallway, somehow managing to catch up with Jaejoong and Hyunjoong just as they fling the cell door open, a shower of Dust sparks erupting where the bars clang against one another.

Zhou Mi starts to sit up, eyes narrowing and mouth opening, clearly confused as to why there’s three people coming to see him instead of just one, but he suddenly gasps in pain and is flung up against the wall. Sungmin’s sure that Dust is keeping him there.

“Stop it!”

The brain Duster ignores Sungmin, advancing further into the cell, and growls as he meets Zhou Mi’s eyes.

“I was wondering when we were going to get to this part,” Zhou Mi chokes, and his chin is forced up.

“Shut up,” Jaejoong snarls, from beside Hyunjoong, “And listen very closely. I need the codes for the defense mainframe around Mars and I need them now. Otherwise everyone on this ship will perish into a ball of fire in a very short period of time.”

“I don’t know them,” Zhou Mi says, and then groans in pain from some unseen affliction as Hyunjoong’s jaw twitches. It’s strange, but he doesn’t look like he’s exerting any force at all, and Sungmin thinks it’s a wonder to be so powerful, that controlling someone is so easy. 

“Hyunjoong, let him down,” Sungmin urges, “Please.”

The Scientist is kept firmly splayed against the wall. Zhou Mi is biting his lip, his face contorted, as he tries to persevere past the pain. “Yunho’s changed them by now,” he gasps, and a tear streaks down his face. Sungmin barely registers Jaejoong murmuring something to Hyunjoong, his attention completely stolen by Zhou Mi as he moans, his body twitching, writhing against the wall, and Sungmin realizes with a jolt that actually, the Scientist isn’t in pain.

His eyes widen a bit, and he feels his body start to flare with heat. He tries to take a step back, but he hits something warm and solid behind him. “Jaejoong,” he tries to say, but it comes out as a whimper and Jaejoong smiles at him, looping an arm around his neck.

Sungmin recognizes the feeling. Dust flooding into him, seeping into his veins and arteries and hormones, screwing with him, and all he wants, all he cares about, is someone getting their hands on him _now_. Because the sensations are worse. They’re worse than they have ever been and some very small part of his brain that’s still functioning rationalizes that it’s because the Dust permeating his body is actually _meant_ to make him feel this way.

Sungmin meets Zhou Mi’s eyes and his breath catches in his throat.

“This isn’t right.”

“Zhou Mi,” Jaejoong purrs, right into Sungmin’s ear, making sparks shoot down into his toes, “Do you know what Sungmin feels like?”

Sungmin doesn’t have time to object. He whines, his head coming back against Jaejoong’s shoulder as Jaejoong’s hands start exploring Sungmin’s body. His arms, shoulders, chest, stomach, describing the feel of it to Zhou Mi. Sungmin’s in a haze, blood pounding through his body, in his ears, and he realizes he can’t move. “Sungmin wants you,” Jaejoong murmurs.

_I do?_ , Sungmin wonders, _Well, maybe a little bit._ But he doesn’t know if that’s Hyunjoong’s Dust or his condition or reality. He sort of hopes it’s real, because that would be nice.

“Don’t you want him?” Jaejoong asks Zhou Mi.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi breathes, his limbs still held up against the wall, straining against the invisible forces that hold him there.

“Touch him, kiss him, feel him dig into your back with his fingernails?”

“Yes,” Zhou Mi all but sobbed, sweat pouring off his body and soaking his clothes.

Sungmin swallows hard, trying to erase the images Jaejoong is constructing in his mind, and he finds himself moving forward.

“Don’t you want to feel him around you?”

Sungmin’s body aches. This is one hundred times worse than running into Jungmo. This is not accidental. This is calculated. This is built upon the screaming of not only his body, but that of Zhou Mi’s as well, built on feelings he apparently has for Zhou Mi and desires that Zhou Mi apparently has for him.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi whispers, his lip trembling, “Please, yes.” Sungmin comes to a halt in front of Zhou Mi. Tears and snot are dripping down his face as he gasps, clearly trying to move two centimeters to get to Sungmin’s mouth but completely unable to move. “Please,” he begs, and Sungmin thinks Zhou Mi must be so much worse off than Sungmin himself, “Please let me.”

“Tell him what you want, Zhou Mi.”

“You. I want you.”

Sungmin swallows hard as he stands close enough to Zhou Mi to suck in the air that’s being expelled out of his lungs. He whimpers as Jaejoong nudges them closer and Sungmin closes his eyes briefly as their clothing brushes. Zhou Mi lets out a sob as his erection presses up against Sungmin’s thigh.

A cloth is pressed into his hand and Jaejoong whispers, “Wipe his face, Sungmin.”

His arm moves of it’s own accord, dabbing at Zhou Mi, and Sungmin wonders if he should be happy that Jaejoong’s forcing this on them. He doesn’t think it would have happened otherwise.

“You know what I want from you, Zhou Mi,” Jaejoong whispers, and Sungmin moans himself a bit, as he feels Jaejoong press up against him and consequently press his body up against Zhou Mi’s, “And if I don’t get it you will never see Sungmin again. We will put you through this every single day for the rest of your miserable life and you will never touch him, never kiss him, never feel him, never be able to do anything to him.”

_What about what I want?_ Sungmin thinks, but can’t worry about it, just leaves his hand pressed to Zhou Mi’s face, hoping that it’s at least partially alleviating. The sight of him begging, pleading, squirming against the cell wall to cause some sort of relief, some sort of _friction_ , threatens to drive Sungmin insane.

“I don’t know them,” Zhou Mi wails, “Please, please just let me—I don’t know them. Even if I did, they’d have been changed.”

Jaejoong bumps Sungmin from behind and his lips brush lightly against Zhou Mi’s. He feels and hears a moan escape his own mouth, and if he could grind his teeth, he would. Why is he getting punished in this as well?

“Talk to me,” Jaejoong murmurs, “I don’t care if they’ve been changed. Everyone knows shield passwords rotate on a pattern, and I intend to figure out that pattern once you starting telling me what they are. Zhou Mi, if you want me to release you from this, I want the codes you know.”

Sungmin can’t hold back his gasp as Jaejoong presses them together fully. Zhou Mi’s body is trembling, or maybe it’s Sungmin’s own, but either way, it’s driving him crazy. He wants to move, his cock screaming at him to grind up against Zhou Mi, his lips wants desperately to kiss something, anything, but he can’t. He cannot move and he decides that once this is over, Jaejoong is going to get a fist into his perfect face.

“Talk to me,” Jaejoong demands, and shoves Sungmin into Zhou Mi.

He breaks. The Scientist starts to babble, words and numbers and letters in all sorts of different languages stream from him as he cracks under the want of his body and the proximity of Sungmin’s.

“Good boy,” Jaejoong croons, stroking Zhou Mi’s cheek, “That’s it. Think about Sungmin, about how good he’s going to make you feel.”

Sungmin tries keep calm, breath coming in short gasps and he’s sure that he’s going to come, right there, just from the sheer need he has that’s pounding against him relentlessly.

Zhou Mi talks for five minutes straight before he stops, and Sungmin hears an audible click afterwards. He realizes that Jaejoong’s recorded everything that’s been said. _Go_ , Sungmin thinks, because enemy or not he wants Zhou Mi right now, and if he doesn’t get him, people are going to get hurt. Killed.

Jaejoong backs up, “Relax,” he commands, and automatically, Zhou Mi sags. Sungmin only just manages to catch him.

He hears Jaejoong walk out, cell door sliding shut behind him, and Sungmin cups Zhou Mi’s face in his hands. They tumble onto the floor, heedless of bumps and bruises it may bring them, and the moment Zhou Mi’s fingertips ghost against Sungmin’s abdomen and then slide down to grip his hips is one he’ll remember forever.

It is as if every second since his accident has built up to this release, with Zhou Mi’s mouth on his face and neck and throat, his hands on his stomach and cock and _god_ , Sungmin _shudders_.

“I want you,” Zhou Mi murmurs, right against the skin of Sungmin’s thigh.

“ _Please_ ,” Sungmin begs, and doesn’t care who or what Zhou Mi is. He just _wants_. “Please,” he murmurs, and as Zhou Mi’s mouth slides over him, suddenly feels freer than he has in months.

“Please,” Sungmin gasps, and wonders what exactly it is that he asking for.

—

It’s not until later, when Sungmin’s laying on the cell cot with his head pillowed on Zhou Mi’s chest, that he realizes not once did Hyunjoong speak. Jaejoong did all the talking. Jaejoong did all the urging. _Jaejoong, Jaejoong, Jaejoong._ He couldn’t even recall Hyunjoong being in the room for the last part of it, which is weird, because he and Jaejoong had been attached at the hip since the _Valenti_ had been destroyed. 

Sungmin sits up, suddenly feeling as though he’s onto something, and works through the thought in his head. Seunghyun and Hyunjoong had found Jaejoong. Seunghyun had taken Jaejoong, Hyunjoong had taken…Dust? He thinks that’s the story, but he can’t actually remember Hyunjoong bringing back any Dust, never mind selling any around that time. Hyunjoong had never exhibited signs of being a brain Duster until the time when he had saved the _Ikati_. And if Sungmin thinks about it very carefully, he realizes that of late, Hyunjoong has never used his abilities unless Jaejoong is near.

“Shit,” Sungmin breathes. 

If he had been the brain Duster, Sungmin would want to be safe. He would want someone to keep him safe, and what better way to be safe than have someone else pretend that they have your abilities? 

He arranges Zhou Mi around the single pillow and the Scientist stirs, eyes fluttering open. “Sungmin?”

“I’ll be back. I have to go punch Jaejoong in the face.”

Zhou Mi blinks. “Will you really come back?”

“Have to feed you,” Sungmin jokes, but his touch to Zhou Mi’s cheek is gentle. “Sleep.”

Zhou Mi does, and Sungmin grabs his boots, shoving his feet into them and slipping his shirt back over his head. 

It feels very strange to leave Zhou Mi in the cell, especially considering what they had just done. Sungmin doesn’t regret the sex and he actually would very much like to do it again, but he doesn’t think he can get away with doing it in the brig. And he doesn’t see Heechul letting Zhou Mi free any time soon.

Sungmin recalls, a bit belatedly, that there are security cameras watching the cell, and he curses. He’ll have to delete that footage as soon as possible; he doesn’t need to add porn star to the list of names he gets called.

He heads towards the bridge first, thinking that maybe Jaejoong will be there, but all he runs into is a very worried Geunsuk, wondering where he’s been because _they’re in the middle of a crisis, dammit, and—_

Sungmin imagines Geunsuk will not be happy that he’s walked out on mid sentence, but whatever. Finding Jaejoong is terribly important. But he isn’t in engineering, the conference rooms, or in Hyunjoong’s quarters. Logically, there are only a few places left.

He buzzes Heechul’s rooms, walking inside when he gets permission, and grins (maniacally, he’s sure) when he sees Jaejoong leaning over a star chart.

“Sungmin!” Heechul snaps, “Where the hell have you been? I need you to—“

Sungmin ignores him, heading straight for Jaejoong and latching onto his wrist. “Outside. Now.”

“What—“ Heechul starts.

“Now,” Sungmin growls, and shoots a glare at Hyunjoong, “You too.” He tugs on Jaejoong’s arm before he can object and yanks him down the hallway, ignoring Heechul calling after them. He finds an empty room and shuts them inside.

“I know you’re upset about—“ 

Sungmin cuts Jaejoong off by shoving him against a wall. “Shut up. Just. This is not about that, yet. This is about you. You and Hyunjoong and how you’ve been lying to everyone.”

“I don’t know what—“

“You’re the brain Duster, aren’t you?

Jaejoong’s eyes widen, and it’s all Sungmin needs to know that he’s correct. “Fuck you,” he snarls, “You are, you little shit.”

“Sungmin,” Jaejoong starts.

“No,” Sungmin says, finger back in Jaejoong’s face, “You just. I can’t believe you. You just used your crap power to _control_ me. You violated me, humiliated me, and used me to get what you wanted and that is not okay. Every single day is difficult for me, every single person on this ship uses me, every one of them laughs at me behind my back, even Heechul.”

“Sungmin, _please_ ,”

“No,” Sungmin hisses again, gripping the sides of Jaejoong’s arms tight, feeling tears forming in his eyes, “It’s not fair, Jaejoong. It’s not fair to me, and it’s not okay. Do you hear me? I don’t care you who are, or how important you are, if you ever do that to me again, I will fucking kill you.”

“Okay,” Jaejoong says, “Okay. I’m sorry. Sungmin, I am so sorry.”

Sungmin realizes that he hadn’t at all been scary, because Jaejoong’s arms come around him and his tears fall in earnest. But it’s fine, because Jaejoong gets his point: Sungmin’s a human being too.

“I’m sorry,” Jaejoong says again, and Sungmin gasps through his sobbing, trying to form a scathing response but unable. “I’m so sorry,” Jaejoong says it over and over, into Sungmin’s ear, his hair, onto his neck, and Sungmin lets him. Each apology makes him feel a little better, calms his heart a little bit more, until he’s stopped crying, listening to Jaejoong’s apologies become murmuring become humming and Sungmin shuts his eyes, feeling exhausted and spent and content to just pass out.

“Sungmin,” Hyunjoong says finally, “You can’t tell anyone. He needs to be safe.”

“I’m not going to say anything,” Sungmin promises, “I understand why you’re doing it. I’d do the same thing.”

Jaejoong squeezes him a little harder, almost imperceptibly. “Thank you.”

“Just don’t be so obvious and no one else will figure it out. Ugh. I had wanted to punch you,” Sungmin says, wiping at his face, “I don’t think I can now.”

“I’d let you,” Jaejoong offers, but Sungmin shakes his head. “Go back to Zhou Mi. If he looks anything like you, he needs a hug and a shower. Maybe you can shower together.”

Sungmin makes a rude gesture, and Jaejoong laughs. “You had good sex. We got the codes. Maybe we should just leave it there.”

“Maybe,” Sungmin agrees, and walks out, pretending not to hear Jaejoong and Hyunjoong laughing. He finds that he’s okay with that. 

— 

Heechul is not happy when Jaejoong and Hyunjoong get back. “The hell was that about?”

“I humiliated him,” Jaejoong says. “We exploited him to get the information and he was pissed. But now he’s better. How are the codes coming?” 

“Perfectly,” Heechul grinds through his teeth, “Now I’m wondering if it was obtained ethically. Should I be upset?”

“No,” Jaejoong says, “And since when have you cared about ethics?” 

“I do if it pertains to a member of my crew. But we’re in a pinch, so I’m going to postpone this discussion until later.”

He can well guess what had occurred, considering that it involves Sungmin. While he had been a proponent of Sungmin getting information out of Zhou Mi, he does not at all like the sound of Jaejoong and Hyunjoong being involved. But they have to survive this, so breaking the string of codes Zhou Mi gave them (under duress or no) comes first. Several more ships had dropped into Mars’ orbit and he’s trying very hard not to think about how they’ll manage to fight off half the Scientist fleet again, not to mention Kyuhyun. And Yunho, who now both know they have a brain Duster, and who most likely have a plan to deal with him. They wouldn’t have so blatantly attacked if they did not.

“I’ve been able to figure out the previous pattern,” Jiyong says, “But not how to advance the pattern to the next logical sequence. I’ve run it through all the programs I can think of, but I can’t generate the next one. We’re missing one component that I don’t know.”

“Do you think we can get through those shields to Hankyung?” Heechul asks.

“Why do we want to call him?” Seunghyun growls, from where he’s knee-deep in print outs.

“One, to make him feel guilty and provide us with back up,” Heechul says, “Two, to get ahold of Henry, and therefore Taemin, who could probably crack this code without even having to use a computer. Can someone call them yes or no?”

“Sure,” Jiyong says, “From the bridge.”

Heechul comms ahead and clears it out. Jiyong takes over communications, sitting down at the console, his fingers flying over it. It takes a few tries but Jiyong soon has a connection, albeit a shaky one. They talk to Taemin first, who agrees to look at the codes, and promises to figure it out. “Sometime in this century,” Heechul says, “Preferably in the next few minutes so we don’t all die.”

Hangeng is a little harder to get ahold of, and once he finally shows his face, Heechul takes a minute to curse him out violently. “The only way for you to make up for this is by sending a few ships to help.” 

“No,” Hangeng says immediately.

“Screw you,” Heechul hisses, “You sold us out.”

“You’re going to win, anyway.”

“Not if the entire fleet shows up,” Heechul screeches. “I can’t believe you and what you’ll do for a little Dust.”

“I have no obligation to you, Heechul, I have to think about my people.”

“Hankyung, we are all going to die today unless you send help.”

It’s sobering to hear out loud; Heechul can’t believe he said it and he’s suddenly hit with a sense of extreme urgency. “Please, Hangeng,” Heechul pronounces the name carefully. It used to make him cave when they were together, and by the way Hangeng’s face softens on screen, it looks like it still does. “Just a few.”

Hangeng sighs. “Fine. I’ll send a few. I’ll have the ships wait just out of range.”

They stare at one another, awkwardly at first, and then Hangeng’s jaw twitches. “Until next time, then.”

Heechul can only nod.

— 

It takes Taemin fifteen minutes to crack the codes, sending back the correct sequence of numbers and letters and symbols to bring down the shield. Heechul is duly impressed, and makes a note to give Taemin something shiny and expensive as a thank you present. Maybe a new computer; he’ll probably like that. 

Sungmin eventually makes his way back up to the bridge looking clean and fresh, and Heechul acknowledges him with a smile. He desperately wants to know what happened, but he holds his tongue. One crisis at a time. He sends the codes to Sungmin, making sure that Hangeng (who according to Geunsuk is leading his small fleet of ships personally,) is ready to ‘Port as soon as the shields go down.

Heechul holds his breath as Sungmin enters the code sequence into his console, his fingers flying at an inhuman speed. “Hangeng’s ready to ‘Port in whenever you say,” Geunsuk says.

“He shouldn’t wait,” Heechul says, “I’ll leave the timing to you and Sungmin.”

Geunsuk makes an affirmative answer just as Sungmin announces, “I’m in. Just tell me when to—

“Now!” Heechul shrieks, and both shields come down.

—

“Shit.”

Kyuhyun doesn’t blink as Ryeowook swears; the captain had already seen the fleet of small fighters that had Dust-ported on top of them. “Whose fighters are those?” Kyuhyun asks. “Those are not Scientist vessels. Please tell me that they are on our side.”

The ships themselves answer Kyuhyun’s question as a barrage of super heated Dust is sprayed over Yunho’s flagship.

“I don’t know who that is,” Ryeowook says, “They’re ignoring our hails.”

Kyuhyun doesn’t recognize the ships, but that doesn’t mean anything. They’re probably Heechul’s or Boa’s, new ones they’ve acquired that haven’t been logged into the system. Kyuhyun decides to ignore them; Yunho can handle it, Kyuhyun’s sure of it. He only cares about getting Heechul. “Ryeowook, keep that shield strong. I don’t want anything getting off that planet until we’re—“

“Did you not hear what I said? It came down as soon as the ships ‘Ported!”

Kyuhyun freezes.

“What?” Changmin asks, horrified.

“They have control of the shields. I can’t get it back.”

“There’s no way,” Kyuhyun whispers, “No way. You can’t crack that code, not without prior knowl—“ he pauses, a horrible realization dawning on him. “Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi must have given it up.”

He sits back down in his seat, letting out a breath. Zhou Mi is on the _Ikati_. “Announce to the fleet that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to destroy Heechul’s ship. This is now a rescue attempt, and we will get him back.”

“We can’t guarantee he’s there. He may be somewhere else and they might have just had the code, waiting until they needed it.”

“We can’t assume anything,” Kyuhyun whispers, “If they had the codes all along, why wait so long before bringing them down?. Yes, Zhou Mi may not be on there, but there’s a huge chance that he is. Relay the order.”

Ryeowook’s voice patches through the ships; Kyuhyun can almost hear his gunners groaning in frustration. He can understand them to a certain extent, but losing Zhou Mi is not worth blowing up Heechul, or Boa. Or anyone.

Kyuhyun glances down at Changmin, watching his hands drum against the controls as one of Yunho’s smaller gunships is blown away. “Are we just going to sit here?”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun responds, “Because I don’t want Heechul slipping away while we’re occupied. We’d never live it down.”

Changmin grits his teeth but he says nothing more. Kyuhyun doesn’t want to have the argument again. For this, he needs Changmin to be here. 

But.

“Minho, how are you feeling?”

Minho shoots him a look. “Good,” he says, hesitantly, and then corrects, “Angry.”

“Dusting wise, I mean,” Kyuhyun says.

Minho cocks his head, his right hand hitting the keys for autopilot as he considers Kyuhyun. “Fine, I guess.”

“Fine enough to ‘Port onto the _Ikati_?”

Minho’s mouth drops. “What?”

There are plenty of skin Dusters in the galaxy. People that can manipulate their skin to do anything, look like anything, feel like anything, and then change it back without even thinking about it. What differentiates Minho is that he can make anything he touches take on the properties of skin, and then manipulate that, so long as it is infused with Dust. He is the perfect person to sneak aboard a ship because he can essentially make himself invisible. 

“You can’t send him onto that ship by himself. Kyuhyun!” Changmin is gaping.

“It’s not an order,” Kyuhyun says softly, “I’m only suggesting it as an option. If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to, simple as that. We need Zhou Mi out of there before he tells them anything else. Clearly, he’s in trouble.” 

“You want me to ‘Port onto Heechul’s ship, free Zhou Mi, and then ‘Port back with him in tow?”

“I want you to ‘Port onto the ship. I don’t think you’ll be able to get back right away.”

His meaning is clear: ‘Port on, and stay on, until you can get Zhou Mi off. ‘Port on and stay invisible for as long as you need to do so. ‘Port onto a ship that houses some of the system’s most dangerous Runners and that is lead by people who will not hesitate to toss Minho out an airlock if he were to be discovered. 

Kyuhyun holds his breath.

“I’ll do it,” Minho says.

Kyuhyun ignores Changmin’s splutters from behind him.

“I’ll tell engineering you’re on your way.”

\--

  
  
Seunghyun holds his breath as they sail past the perimeters of both shields. One problem down, one to go. Or several to go, depending on how he looks at it. There’s a wall of ships between them and freedom, a wall that they have to get through in order to safely drop a ‘Hole and escape.  
  
“Plan?” Heechul snaps his fingers, “Quick.”  
  
“Blast our way through,” Jiyong offers.  
  
It’s not as if they have any other option. Heechul hits his comm. “Donghae, launch your fighters and clear a space, we’ll be right behind you.”  
  
“Been waiting for you to say that,” Donghae’s voice comes back, bright and happy, “Give me fifteen minutes out there and you’re home free.”  
  
“You have ten,” Jiyong says, “Fifteen minutes will get us all killed.”  
  
Donghae’s answer is piped through the comm in the form of decompression alarms going off in the hangar bay. “Hyunjoong,” Heechul snaps, “We’re going to need you to help us here.”  
  
“Working on it. Hongki’s got engineering covered, and I have Jaejoong here in case I faint or something. What do you want me to do?”  
  
What Heechul would like to do is straightforward: kill the mother fucking bastards. But that would take too much energy and far too much Dust. “When we can’t evade them, freeze their gunners. I’ll tell you when.”  
  
“Done,” Hyunjoong promises.  
  
For a time, there’s minimal firing. Yoochun slides the  _Ikati_  around the superheated Dust lazily, Donghae and his squadron keeping their fighters away. Seunghyun begins to think that this can’t possibly be the plan Kyuhyun had in mind, because it’s far to easy. A minute later, he realizes that he’s right, and he probably should have been worrying out loud.  
  
Sungmin swears and alarms start to screech. Their shields are down. No shots had hit them, no blasts had gone off, just all of a sudden they flatlined, and Sungmin can’t get them back up.  
  
Yoochun throws them into a spin, avoiding the Dust that is suddenly shot out at them, and only Seunghyun’s training as a fighter pilot keeps him from losing his lunch. He expects them to keep firing, but as he watches their patterns on his board, he finds that Kyuhyun doesn’t appear to be firing in order to destroy Heechul; Kyuhyun’s fighters are firing to keep the ship at bay. Which means the Scientists still have a plan, which means Seunghyun still needs to fear for his life.  
  
Sungmin is yelling stats as he tries to get their shields back up, Geunsuk is screaming Kyuhyun’s trajectory paths to Yoochun who concentrates on flying away from them, and Heechul is screeching into the comm for Hyunjoong to freeze their gunners until they can get the shields up and running again.  
  
“Randomize the codes for the shields and try again,” Seunghyun says to Sungmin, wondering if he can even be heard.  
  
The ship shudders as a blast sears across the tail, and in the moment between Seunghyun feeling everyone’s hearts skip a few beats and some new kid throwing up everywhere, eight unknown masses get ‘Ported onto their ship. Seunghyun doesn’t waste a second, grabbing his comm and screaming for Seungri and Junsu to meet him at the closest thing ‘Ported aboard. He vaguely hears Jiyong shouting at him that he and Geunsuk are going to check another one out and to be safe.  
  
Seunghyun keeps his gun out as they approach the site, barreling down the hallway. He expects to find a boarding party. Instead, he finds a wooden box. “What,” Seungri says flatly, and kicks it disdainfully. He actually looks disappointed.  
  
“Don’t be an idiot,” Seunghyun hisses, grabbing Seungri by the collar and hauling him backwards, “Do you ever think?”  
  
“I’ve got it,” Junsu says, and pulls out a multitool from his belt. He pries the top of the box of with care, the wood creaking as it pops apart, and Seunghyun’s mouth goes dry as he peeps inside. Junsu’s surprised intake of breath is enough to confirm his suspicion. “RUN,” Seunghyun screams, and grabs both Junsu and Seungri, sprinting as fast as he can in the opposite direction.  
  
“Jiyong,” he yells through his comm, “They’re bombs.  _It’s a goddamn bomb_!”  
  
The blasts shake the  _Ikati_ , and Seunghyun is thrown into a bulkhead. He hears his shoulder pop before he feels the pain. A second later, as Seungri’s concerned face swims in and out of focus in front of him, he blacks out.  
  
—  
  
Jaejoong feels the blasts of Dust a second before they rock the ship and he grabs Hyunjoong just in time, pinning him to the floor as the ship buckles. Jaejoong expects to be sucked out into space at any second, but a moment later, he finds that he can still breathe and he raises his head. Hyunjoong groans.  
  
“Stay still,” Jaejoong says, using a little Dust to assess Hyunjoong. He’s mostly fine, no serious wounds, just shock, and Jaejoong can’t say he doesn’t feel that himself. “Stay down. I’m going to fix this.”  
  
“Don’t give yourself away.”  
  
“I won’t,” Jaejoong promises.  
  
The Dust in the containers beside them is swirling, the blast having shook it and Jaejoong sticks his hand back inside, swirling his fingers through it, connecting to it, before absorbing as much of it as he could into his body.  
  
The first ship he hits with his attack is Kyuhyun’s. He paralyzes them, freezing every body he can feel, making the gunners pull the Dust out of their weapons, forcing the pilot to turn the ship around and fly away. Then he moves on, ship after ship after ship, until every single one is frozen, not unlike the first time he had done it.  
  
In the background, he hears Hyunjoong rasping into the comm for Heechul to recall Donghae’s squadron so they can ‘Port. Jaejoong tunes them out, focusing instead on the ships and making sure that no one is able to break his hold.  
  
No one has, but it feels weird. Something is definitely not right, Jaejoong notes, because none of them are trying to fight him. Not even the presence he’s come to know as Kyuhyun, and it makes Jaejoong exceedingly worried. Kyuhyun’s a fighter. There’s something Jaejoong’s missing.  
  
“Jaejoong,” a voice says in his ear, “Let them go, we’re ready.”  
  
Jaejoong waits until the last second, dropping the Dust and his hold on the fleet just as they start to ‘Port out. He collapses onto the floor, realizing with a jolt that he had never in his life used up so much Dust.  
  
“Jaejoong,” the voice says again, “Jaejoong, are you okay?”  
  
Jaejoong grips Hyunjoong’s hand in response, eyes still closed, feeling absolutely exhausted. What is he missing? Kyuhyun is somehow able to take down their shields, and then instead of blasting them to bits, ‘Ports aboard bombs that while powerful, aren’t enough so to destroy them. And then, when confronted with Jaejoong’s abilities, doesn’t even bother fighting him off. It’s so unlike everything he’s come to associate with Kyuhyun and it makes Jaejoong nervous.  _What am I missing?_ , he thinks, frustrated.  
  
“Jaejoong,” a voice croons, and he opens his eyes.  
  
Hyunjoong’s face appears in front of him. “Can you stand up?”  
  
He can, with a little help, and Hyunjoong cradles him. “Everyone’s safe.”  
  
The  _Ikati_  is not, Jaejoong knows, but that’s for Heechul and Boa to worry about.  
  
The sick bay, when they reach it, is full to bursting with crew members. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jaejoong sees Jiyong hovering anxiously over a bed. He doesn’t see who’s in it, but he can guess. Jiyong’s only ever so concerned about one person.  
  
“Seunghyun,” he gasps.  
  
“Worry about yourself,” Hyunjoong snaps. He sits Jaejoong down on a chair. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”  
  
Jaejoong’s head is swimming at this point, and he desperately wishes he had something to drink; he feels as though it’s been months since his last sip of water. He closes his eyes, only to pop them back open when he hears screaming. There’s a distinct sound of a bone sliding back into a socket, and Jaejoong swallows down bile as Sungmin wraps an arm he had clearly just set.  
  
Jaejoong closes his eyes again, this time keeping them shut until he feels Hyunjoong draw near. He has a IV in tow and Jaejoong allows him to hook it up, feeling better almost immediately as the Dust, working in tandem with medicine, rushes through his system. Five minutes later, he can see properly and his head is no longer spinning.  
  
And he’s really, really angry.  
  
“Bastards,” he spits, chugging down water and tearing into the rations bar Hyunjoong hands him, “Idiots. Morons. Assholes.” He chokes as he tries to eat, breathe, and talk all at the same time. Hyunjoong pats his knee.  
  
“You were brilliant.”  
  
“I want some alcohol.”  
  
“Once the meds work through your system,” Hyunjoong promises.  
  
“What’s the status of the ship?”  
  
“Heechul might need to get a new one. But knowing him, he probably won’t. We’ll be stuck on Io doing repairs for awhile.”  
  
Jaejoong swears. “Why do that? Why ‘Port aboard bombs that will damage but not destroy?”  
  
“Didn’t have any powerful enough?”  
  
Jaejoong glares. “This is Kyuhyun we’re talking about. He always has a reason. Always.”  
  
“I think we need to have a meeting.”  
  
“I think so too.”  
  
He swallows another mouth full of water, looking around the med bay, sighing more wounded stagger inside. “I’m feeling better. I think Sungmin could use our help.”  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun is glowing. He’s sure of it. He’s so proud of himself (and Minho) he feels as though he could pop. Even Changmin has to admit that their plan worked brilliantly, and now all they can do is wait and hope that Minho remains hidden and can free Zhou Mi.  
  
“You are a genius. You are the smartest person I know. I cannot even fathom how you thought of ‘Porting bombs on board. This is exactly why I keep you around.”  
  
Changmin huffs, but he’s clearly pleased with the praise and let’s Kyuhyun kiss his cheek. “Is that all I get?”  
  
“For now,” Kyuhyun says, euphoria practically lifting him off his feet. Later, when they’re not on their way to debrief with Yunho and neither of them are needed anywhere, he’ll give Changmin a little bit more. “I’m so ecstatic right now I won’t even care if Yunho confines me to quarters again.”  
  
“I don’t think he will,” Changmin assures him, “You were brilliant.”  
  
“ _You_  were brilliant,” Kyuhyun says again, and grabs onto Changmin’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Positively  _mind-blowing_.”  
  
“Maybe a little.”  
  
They only let go of one another once they reach the conference room, and it takes a second for Kyuhyun to find out that Changmin is right. Yunho will not be throwing anyone in the brig after that battle. He is so happy and proud, he’s hyper, and were it not for so many captains in the room, he’d probably he bouncing around like a five year old child.  
  
Kyuhyun and Changmin are given a healthy round of applause, to which they both bow, before taking their seats. Most of the other captains are present, along with some of Yunho’s crew—Jinki, his fiancee (Kyuhyun wonders how late their baby is,) and Soojung, sitting at Yunho’s elbow as always.  
  
“The most pressing question I have,” Yunho says, “Is how you managed to get their shields down so fast.”  
  
Kyuhyun grins. “I was hoping you’d ask,” he says, “As this is now my thing favorite in the whole galaxy to say. We,” he grins, “have an informant on Heechul’s ship. Though as of this moment, we are uncertain as to who this person actually is.”  
  
Yunho’s eyebrows raise.  
  
“He’s been sending us intel about Heechul’s ships, where’s he’s been hiding, and just after the shields on Mars went down, he sent us the framework for the shields on Heechul’s ships, so we were able to do to them what they did to us.”  
  
“And you really don’t know who it is?”  
  
“We have no idea. It’s a bother, because if we ever meet in a firefight, I don’t want to accidentally shoot him, but perhaps for now it’s better that way. If we don’t know, then it’s a safe bet that Heechul doesn’t know either.”  
  
He explains his plan, making sure Changmin is given the credit he’s due and that Yunho knows the bombs were his idea. They had needed something to do to distract Heechul from seeing Minho’s ‘Port. Kyuhyun had planned on just ‘Porting over random objects, but then Changmin had suggested bombs and Kyuhyun’s life was made.  
  
“Will Minho be alright?” Jinki asks, looking a little concerned. It’s been a familiar look on him these past few weeks, mostly because of Sunyoung.  
  
“He has a lot of Dust in his skin, as well as some he brought along for backup. He’ll be able to remain invisible for a week, at least, though I hope it doesn’t take him that long to get back to us. He’ll keep us updated when he can.”  
  
Yunho nods along, “It shouldn’t be too long. Even if he’s exhausted by the time he finds Zhou Mi—”  
  
“Zhou Mi’s Stamina will keep him going,” Kyuhyun finishes, “So we have no reason to worry. He won’t get caught.”  
  
And that’s when Sunyoung suddenly yelps in surprise, her head hitting the back of her chair as she clutches her stomach and Jinki jumps, limbs flailing. It’s a wonder he doesn’t crash onto the floor. “Oh God,” he moans, as Yunho helps her up because Jinki is far too spastic to be of any use, “ _Finally._ ”  
  
“This is like, the best day ever,” Kyuhyun says, “I am suddenly astounded by our good luck.”  
  
Changmin takes his hand and laughs. “Luck, huh?”  
  
“Luck,” Kyuhyun echoes faintly, watching Jinki holding onto Sunyoung’s hand as they leave. Yunho comms ahead to the sickbay. “We are so goddamn lucky.”  
  
And it was about time, too.  
  
—  
  
Seunghyun has always loved stars. There’s something terribly peaceful about them, something that scratches an itch in his soul that nothing else can ever reach. Except for Jiyong. If Seunghyun could only have one thing for the rest of his life, it would be Kwon Jiyong.  
  
He’s only mildly surprised when he feels hands on his waist and Jiyong’s heart press in close to his. “What are you thinking about?” One of Jiyong’s fingers trace a vein up Seunghyun’s arm.  
  
“You,” Seunghyun says, chuckling as Jiyong pinches him and huffs for a moment. “I was. But also Kyuhyun, if you must know.”  
  
He hums, and Seunghyun can feel it against his bicep.  
  
“Jaejoong’s been muttering about it all day,” Jiyong whispers.  
  
“He always seems to know exactly where we are and exactly how to hit us. Like earlier—how did he get the codes to our systems to take down our shields? It was like, one minute of flight and boom. No shields. Like he didn’t even have to try to break them. And Jaejoong says no one even bothered fighting his Dust. There wasn’t any frustration or irritation, they just  _let_  him do whatever he wanted. That’s so suspicious it makes my skin crawl.”  
  
“And then the bombs,” Jiyong offers.  
  
“Why not just blow the  _Ikati_  up?”  
  
“Actually no,” Jiyong raises himself up to look at Seunghyun properly, “You didn’t hear?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“There’s a record of eight boxes being ‘Ported on, but only seven exploded.”  
  
Seunghyun frowns, “So there’s one we don’t know about?”  
  
“No, Yoochun and I checked it out. Hyunjoong pinpointed the exact location of the drop, but when we got to the corridor, there wasn’t anything there.”  
  
Several things can explain this. The bomb didn’t go off and someone took it, or something else was ‘Ported instead of a bomb and someone took that. Or whatever had been ‘Ported walked off by itself. Neither of the options are good.  
  
“Someone,” Jiyong says, plopping back onto the mattress, “is leaking out our information. Kyuhyun probably knows exactly who it is and sent them something.”  
  
“But why weak bombs? Why not send a whole shit ton of—“  
  
The comm beside his bed beeps. Seunghyun reaches over Jiyong to slap at it. “What do you want, Seungri?”  
  
“How did you know it was me?” Seunghyun can hear the pout in his voice.  
  
“Psychic,” Jiyong says, his voice half muffled by Seunghyun’s shoulder, and Seunghyun adds, “No one else calls us when we specifically say we don’t want to be bothered.”  
  
“Oh.” It’s clear that Seungri doesn’t care. “Well, I wanted to know if someone figured out what had been ‘Ported.”  
  
“How did you know about that?”  
  
“What? Oh, well everyone knows.”  
  
 _How did that get out?_  Seunghyun wonders, and he and Jiyong exchange a perplexed look.  
  
And then it hits him.  
  
“Zhou Mi!”  
  
“What?” Jiyong and Seungri ask simultaneously.  
  
“Kyuhyun figured out that Zhou Mi was on board, which is why they didn’t blow us up. He must have sent something to the spy in order to help him get Zhou Mi free.”  
  
He’s up and out of bed before Jiyong can stop him, scrambling for his boots.  
  
“We have a spy?” Seungri’s voice asks loudly.  
  
“You keep your mouth shut about that until I’ve confirmed it,” Seunghyun says. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” He cuts his line with Seungri and punches in Heechul’s number before backtracking after a moment of thought and keying in Sungmin’s ID number instead. The comm officer answers with a sleepy voice.  
  
“I’m sorry to bother you this late, but it’s about Zhou Mi. Are you sure there’s a guard posted there?’  
  
“What? Yes. Of course there’s a guard. What’s going on?”  
  
“There’s a spy and he’s going to try to break Zhou Mi free. Or she. Whomever it is. We need triple security down there stat.”  
  
“Spy?” The sound peaks.  
  
Calming Sungmin down takes a moment, assuring him that it’s just a theory and no, he’s not allowed to comm Heechul until they know for sure. It’s best to not have to cross that bridge unless they have no other choice. Someone will end up dead if they tell the Captain too early, and while Seunghyun is starting to think that’s a good idea, they need to make sure it’s the  _right_  person that is killed, and not an ally.  
  
—  
  
Minho lays low the first couple of hours. He had ‘Ported in near engineering and almost collided with several people running away from one of the bombs. Thankfully, he had managed to secure himself behind a bulkhead before they exploded and had escaped unscathed.  
  
He spends several hours staking out an abandoned room before feeling satisfied that there isn’t a regular stream of people coming in and out. There’s a computer in it, along with a simple console, and Minho’s able to crack the security codes with ease, plugging in the software he had brought along with him. Within a half hour he has all of Heechul’s schematics saved onto a hard drive. He memorizes the basic layout of the ship, noting the location of the brig, and decides to head there first.  
  
They’re docked at a port, so most of the ship is empty and he’s able to avoid patrols with relative ease. The  _Ikati_  is pretty run down, and Minho makes a note to tell Kyuhyun that as much as he complains, he doesn’t have it as bad as the Runners. The ship is a disgrace, and Minho grins to himself suddenly, thinking that the bombs probably put Heechul over the edge.  
  
It’s a wonderful thought.  
  
When he gets to the brig, he’s surprised to find only one guard. It would take seconds to disarm him and knock him unconscious as all of his focus is on a movie playing on his datapad, but Minho knows better than to be hasty. Best to check and see if Zhou Mi is in any shape to move at all.  
  
He slides past the guard noiselessly, thankful for the noise of the film. Zhou Mi is sleeping on a cot that looks anything but comfortable, and Minho swallows down his anger. He throws a glance at the guard, noting that he’s still glued to his datapad, before whistling long and low in a particular frequency. Zhou Mi’s eyes snap open immediately.  
  
“Mi,” Minho whispers, because short and sweet is safest.  
  
Zhou Mi frowns for a moment, and after Minho repeats his name, still watching the guard carefully, Zhou Mi rolls and pretends to fall off his cot. The guard glances up just as Zhou Mi shoves himself up off the floor and against the bars, rubbing at his elbow. The guard laughs, and then goes back to his movie. Minho has to bite his tongue.  
  
He reaches through the bars carefully, brushing his fingers against Zhou Mi’s cheek. He’s happy to see that it isn’t bruised. “It’s Minho,” he breathes, and Zhou Mi’s eyes go wide. “Hurt?” he asks.  
  
Zhou Mi shakes his head, almost imperceptibly.  
  
“Kyuhyun says out.”  _Kyuhyun says that I have to get you out of here._  A small smile flits across Zhou Mi’s face, and Minho’s heart drops when again, Zhou Mi shakes his head. No? “Mi,” he murmurs, casting a glance at the guard that’s still oblivious, the idiot.  
  
“Go,” Zhou Mi says, “Safe.”  
  
 _How are you safe?_  Minho wants to scream, but instead, grips Zhou Mi’s arm tightly. Zhou Mi smiles again, and Minho suddenly feels rejuvenated, feels like he just woke up from a long nap and could keep up his guise for a whole month. He breathes it in, thanking anyone he could think of for Zhou Mi’s stamina Dust, and whispers his thank you. He pushes a bit of his unused Dust through the bars and Zhou Mi’s fingers absorb it almost immediately. Some of his color returns.  
  
“Plan,” Zhou Mi says, “Go. Now.”  
  
Minho gets to his feet. He’s not abandoning Zhou Mi yet. He’ll watch for a few days, see if there’s a time when he can get Zhou Mi alone for a minute, just to have an actual conversation, and in the meantime, he’ll plan. It doesn’t look like Zhou Mi’s been tortured, but you can never know with Dusters; it could very well all be psychological.  
  
“Be back,” he promises, ignoring Zhou Mi’s slight frown. The guard still doesn’t look up.  
  
He heads for the door, thankful again that it apparently remains open, and at the last minute looks up; he narrowly misses running straight into someone coming through on the other side.

 

\--

 

  
Seunghyun feels a heart pounding in front of him and he comes to an abrupt halt. There are two people in the room. The guard, whose pulse jumped a little as he pauses—Seunghyun’s cranes his neck to see—a movie, damn him, and Zhou Mi, who’s heart seems relatively calm.  
  
No, there’s a third heart in the room that’s pumping like crazy. A heart that Seunghyun can’t see.  
  
The guard jumps to his feet. “Sir!” he looks confused, “Um. Welcome?”  
  
“Do you always leave the door to this holding open?” Seunghyun asks sharply.  
  
“Yes? He’s in a cell, sir, he can’t get out.”  
  
“But other people can get in,” Yoochun points out, coming in behind Seunghyun. “Aren’t you supposed to keep it shut?”  
  
“Well, yes, but—“  
  
“You’re excused,” Yoochun says, “You can report to Heechul immediately and inform him that you need a new job.” Or maybe he’ll be fired. Heechul will not like being woken up, so that’s essentially the guard’s fate. They had plenty of crew members to replace him.  
  
The guard swallows, looking positively petrified and bows, perhaps for lack of something else to say, and sprints out of the door, narrowly avoiding Sungmin. He’s carrying food. “I figured I could sneak a meal in, since you’re suddenly so concerned about Zhou Mi’s well being.”  
  
Seunghyun heads over the console and shuts the door to the hallway. The extra heart is still beating rapidly, he can feel it and the extreme amount of Dust it’s swathed in pressing itself into a corner. He wonders if whomever the heart belongs to is good at martial arts and if, should it come to a fight, he could beat them all. Whomever it is, he’s clearly a skin Duster, and a fantastic one at that. If he had been sent here by Yunho, then he’s clearly trusted and thought skilled enough to break Zhou Mi out of jail. The question is, does Zhou Mi know he’s here yet? The answer is most likely yes, seeing as the heart had been trying to leave the brig, not enter it.  
  
“What can I do for you, gentlemen?” Zhou Mi asks, around a mouthful of rice.  
  
Seunghyun eyes him, noting the way Sungmin stands beside the Scientist almost protectively. “Firstly, I’d like to know how Hyunjoong got those codes out of you. But I don’t think either of you will tell me that, so I’ll settle for you telling me if you know of a spy on board.”  
  
As Zhou Mi regards him, weighing his options, Seunghyun flutters the Dust in Jiyong’s heart, getting his attention, and directing his blood Duster abilities towards the stray heart still beating wildly in the corner. He knows Jiyong feels the blood circulating there when his hand grips Seunghyun’s jacket sleeve tightly.  
  
“I don’t know of one,” Zhou Mi says, “But I have nothing to prove that I’m telling the truth, so we may be at something of an impasse.”  
  
The heart doesn’t feel familiar to Seunghyun. It’s certainly not one of Boa’s men, and definitely not one of his or Jiyong’s. He’s fairly certain it’s no one of Heechul’s either, but he can’t be sure; they had picked up a few crew members at Hangeng’s hideout and it could be one of them, though what the hell they’d be doing in a brig,  _invisible_ , is beyond Seunghyun.  
  
“I’ll be honest,” he says, “since Sungmin seems to have taken a liking to you. Something is happening on this ship, and I’m not quite sure yet whether it’s one of yours or one of ours. If it’s one of yours, then we need to be careful, because we can’t have you disappearing, but if it’s one of ours,” he shrugs, “Can’t promise that you’ll be safe, even in here. So you’ll have extra guards from now on.”  
  
“I appreciate that you worry about me,” Zhou Mi says carefully.  
  
“I like to think of myself as a civil person.”  
  
The heart has started to inch towards the door. It’s calm now, beating steadily and with purpose that could only mean the owner is about to make a run for it. Seunghyun feels Jiyong’s heart speed up. They’ll need another person in the way of the door if they want to catch the heart.  
  
“Sungmin, come out.”  
  
He doesn’t exit fast enough and Seunghyun takes a few steps forward to pull at Sungmin’s arm but realizes too late he should have just stayed put. The heart catapults from the corner of the room and Seunghyun watches, horrified, as the button for the brig door depresses. He lunges, but with nothing to see, and just the position of an invisible heart to go by, he misses.  
  
The footsteps in the hallway echo and he swears. “Yoochun, stay here.”  
  
He sprints down the corridor, knowing that Jiyong is close behind, but he’s too late. The owner of that heart is a fast mother fucker, that’s for sure. For a moment, Seunghyun thinks that he feels the heart, but in a second it’s gone, and as they reach the crew quarters there are too many hearts for him to distinguish from one he doesn’t know very well, and it’s lost.  
  
“Shit.”  
  
“Spy?” Jiyong asks, coming up beside him.  
  
“Worse,” Seunghyun says. “I think Kyuhyun ‘Ported a person on board.”  
  
His comm beeps.  
  
“Seunghyun,” Heechul’s irritated voices says, “Why is there a guard at my door asking for a new job?”  
  
“You’d better get down here. We have a serious problem.”  
  
He doesn’t wait for a response. “You meet him. I’m going to call Boa.”  
  
Jiyong gives his elbow a squeeze before heading back down the way he came. Seunghyun takes a moment to appreciate him, before continuing onto his quarters. He ignores another comm from Seungri, intent on speaking with Boa first. It’s not unusual for her to be gone this long, seeing to their business on the space station, acquiring buyers and spies whilst he and Jiyong run their organization. They work well this way, and Seunghyun likes it, enjoys it even; being in charge without  _actually_  being in charge has its perks.  
  
Boa answers after a few moments, her voice thick with sleep; Seunghyun refuses to feel bad. He sees her a moment later, as she activates the Dust in her comm, blinking dully. Something next to her moves, and Seunghyun barely manages to not raise his eyebrows when he sees that it’s a man. Or a lump of a man wrapped in blankets, either way,  _it’s a man in her bed_. Seunghyun isn’t sure how he feels about that. Isn’t he supposed to know everything about her? He would have thought she’d have given him that courtesy.  
  
“Can you talk?”  
  
“Hold on,” she says. The viewer spins as she rolls out of bed and Seunghyun watches the crinkled wallpaper as she walks out of her bedroom (his bedroom? he wonders faintly,) before he hears a door shut and her face reappears.  
  
“Who was that?”  
  
“None of your business,” Boa says, “What’s up?”  
  
Seunghyun explains the situation to her, and when he’s done, the happy sort of glow that had surrounded her (possibly from really good sex, he thinks,) has disappeared.  
  
“I’ll leave in the morning,” she tells him, “Watch Heechul carefully. I wouldn’t put it past him to have schemed this in order to keep an eye on me; I don’t think we can blame Kyuhyun yet, at least not seriously.”  
  
“This is why you’re leader,” Seunghyun smiles, and then leans in closer to his viewer, “But seriously, who was that?”  
  
“No one you need to worry about.”  
  
“Having one night stands?” Seunghyun teases.  
  
“Of course not,” She returns easily.  
  
“Then did you get married? Is that why you haven’t been around lately?”  
  
“Fuck off,” she hisses, “Is that it?”  
  
“Yeah,” he says, “See you when you get here.”  
  
She waves, and the connection dies.  
  
He sits back, frowning a little as he considers this new development. He brings the conversation back up, trying to get a good look at the man beside her, but it’s too dark. He doesn’t know why it bothers him that she wouldn’t say who it was, but there it is.  _Now what to do about it,_  he asks himself, and can’t find an answer.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun gets an encrypted message from Minho a day after the battle at Mars.  _Safe. Working on plan. Mi is fine._  Attached are schematics to the  _Ikati_ , which Kyuhyun very happily opens and downloads onto his datapad. He’ll go over them later.  
  
Short as Minho’s message is, it’s a huge relief, and the first person Kyuhyun shows is Changmin, who quite fortuitously is lying in bed next to him. “I’m glad he’s okay,” Changmin says, and his eyes re-read the message over and over. “Zhou Mi, too. I was worried.”  
  
“Everyone is. Need to show this to Yunho, plus give him those maps and readouts.”  
  
“We also need to go see Jinki’s baby.”  
  
Kyuhyun grins.  
  
The baby had been delivered on Yunho’s Ship, and so they take a shuttle over to it, since no one had left Earth after returning from Mars. They try to find Yunho first, but when no one knows exactly where he is, they head to the medical bay, and are met by an ecstatic Jinki.  
  
Honestly, Kyuhyun’s never seen someone so happy. It’s infectious, and Kyuhyun can’t imagine anyone being able to be sad around him.  
  
And the baby is very cute. Not newly-born-and-actually-ugly, but honest-to-god cute. And light. And holding her is the last thing Kyuhyun had expected to be doing, but here he is, very aware of everyone watching him, and super aware of Changmin latching onto his hips, chin over his shoulder.  
  
“Very domestic,” he says into Kyuhyun’s ear.  
  
“You’re not allowed to rib me.”  
  
“I’m not,” Changmin tells him, “I mean that in the best possible way. You should give her back though, Jinki’s starting to look depressed.”  
  
Kyuhyun chuckles, petting the soft skin of the baby’s head before handing her back to Jinki, who takes her so incredibly carefully it nearly breaks Kyuhyun’s heart. He thinks it’s nice to have such precious joy amid such turbulent times; it certainly puts a lot of things in perspective.  
  
“I’m glad Minho’s okay,” Jinki says to him, shifting his arms a bit, “Thank you for coming and telling me.”  
  
“I only came to see the baby,” Kyuhyun jokes.  
  
Jinki grins, “Can’t say that I blame you.” He coos at her until she starts to mewl, and Kyuhyun looks away as Jinki crawls onto the bed and gives her to Sunyoung, both of them laughing a little as they try to figure out breastfeeding, completely oblivious to the other people in the room.  
  
“Every family should be like them,” Kyuhyun muses, “That would be nice.”  
  
“Let’s go,” Changmin urges, “We still need to find Yunho.”  
  
Kyuhyun grins all the way out of the med bay, and it’s not until they reach Yunho’s quarters that Kyuhyun realizes he totally forgot to ask about the baby’s name.  
  
Changmin rolls his eyes, “I can’t even believe you. It’s Sora. Had you bothered to look at the name on her crib, or the name on her blanket, or the name on all the cards lying on the table—“  
  
“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry that I was oblivious.”  
  
He thinks Jinki’s happy mood really is infectious, because he cannot stop smiling for the life of him. He can imagine how Changmin will tease him for it later, but he doesn’t really care. “Is there a seratonin Duster around?” He wonders aloud.  
  
“No,” Changmin says, “You’re just genuinely happy. Isn’t it a nice feeling?”  
  
Or maybe the teasing will start now. Kyuhyun just laughs it off, reaching to buzz at Yunho’s door and hoping that since they’d visited, he’s returned.  
  
He has not.  
  
“Where do you think he is?”  
  
“I have no idea,” Kyuhyun says, still grinning, “And I don’t particularly care.”  
  
“I feel as though I should maybe take advantage of your good mood.” A hand creeping underneath Kyuhyun’s shirt tells him exactly what kind of advantage-taking Changmin has in mind. Kyuhyun feels his stomach drop a bit at the thought.  
  
He keys in a message to the system on Yunho’s door, knowing that it will be recited to the Scientist when he walks inside.  
  
“Go ahead.”  
  
—  
  
Yoobin is possibly the most precious child Jaejoong’s ever come across. She’s a carbon copy of Yoochun, except female and much smaller, but her smile is the same, her laugh is extraordinarily similar, and even the way she pats Jaejoong’s knee is uncanny.  
  
“Yoobin,” he says, “If you had to leave the ship, would you do it?”  
  
“Leave with Daddy?” she asks, tilting her head as she brushed the hair on the doll in her hands.  
  
“Yes. With Daddy and me and Hyunjoong. Maybe on Jiyong’s ship.”  
  
“I’d leave with Daddy,” she nods, “If we had to.”  
  
 _If they had to leave_ , Jaejoong thinks, stroking her hair for a moment. It’s something he’d been thinking about since the incident on Mars. Certainly he is safer with so many people to protect him, but more people means more mouths means more rumors, and more people that could figure out that Hyunjoong is only a nervous system Duster and not a brain Duster at all. If Jaejoong is to leave, they might be able to find a place where no one would recognize him, maybe a society like Hangeng has, outside the war and jurisdiction of either side.  
  
It sounds nice, but is rather unrealistic. He doesn’t know that he’d be safe—really and truly safe—anywhere.  
  
“Are we leaving?” Yoobin asks curiously.  
  
“No,” Jaejoong smiles, “Not yet, anyway.”  
  
She nods, going back to styling her doll. “I like the yellow ribbon,” she says, and Jaejoong wonders if she already forgot. Kids. So incredibly resilient.  
  
“You really like yellow, huh?” Jaejoong asks.  
  
Her smile is radiant, and Jaejoong laughs, patting her head again just as the door beeps and Yoochun comes back from his shift as pilot. “Hey,” Jaejoong says, but he’s ignored as Yoobin is lifted up into his arms and cuddled.  
  
Jaejoong’s never quite felt so warm and fuzzy in his life.  
  
“Thank you for watching her. I can’t yell at people like I want to when she’s around.”  
  
“We had fun,” Jaejoong assures him, “Didn’t we?”  
  
Yoobin nods.  
  
“Stay for a minute,” Yoochun says, “Let me just put Yoobin down for a nap.”  
  
Jaejoong waits on Yoochun’s couch, his feet tucked up underneath him as he listens to Yoochun talk with Yoobin for a few minutes before coming back out, running a hand through his hair. “Seriously, thank you.”  
  
“I’m sure it’s easier heading up all those repairs without having to worry about where Yoobin is all the time. Did it go well?”  
  
“Relatively. Those bombs really screwed the ship. Super expensive to fix.”  
  
Jaejoong hums.  
  
“Jaejoong,” Yoochun starts, sitting down next to him, “Yoobin just said you asked her about leaving the ship. Are you thinking about it?”  
  
 _Maybe not so resilient after all,_  Jaejoong thinks to himself. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”  
  
“She wasn’t scared. Just curious.” He narrows his eyes, “And so am I. Do you want to leave?”  
  
“I don’t know. I’ve been seriously considering it since you told me what Seunghyun felt last night.”  
  
“Do you not feel safe?”  
  
“No, I do feel safe, but—” He stops, wondering how to say what he wants to in the right way. “I don’t think everyone else is safe. Because of me. I don’t like that.”  
  
It’s not that he hasn’t said it before, but in light of recent events, it’s different. More of a possibility.  
  
“Whatever you decide,” Yoochun tells him, a hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder “Whatever you need, I’m here. I’m on your side. And tonight we’ve learned that so is Yoobin!”  
  
He tucks himself against Yoochun, happy when arms come around him and he can feel Yoochun’s breath puff at his hair. “I’m glad you’re cuddly. Hyunjoong can never be serious long enough for it to matter and Seunghyun just doesn’t like touching.”  
  
“Unless it’s with Jiyong,” Yoochun corrects.  
  
“So sad,” Jaejoong mourns, “He looks super comfy underneath all his clothes.”  
  
They chuckle.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin makes his way down to the brig, his footsteps light, his eyebrows creasing a little in concentration. He can feel his heart fluttering against his ribs and he’s marginally afraid the tray of food will slip out of his hands and he’ll have to go scrounge around for more leftovers. That means more time away from Zhou Mi which means less time to have a serious conversation with him about what had happened because of Jaejoong.  
  
Sungmin can hear the hiss of air that’s normally buried under a lively corridor, and the faint whir of engine Dust, since the brig is so close to engineering. His footsteps echo in a way that’s more ominous than friendly, and all the way down, Sungmin practices what he’ll say to the guards—you’ll need to leave while I speak to him, if you could all just step outside for a moment, get out or I’ll report you to Heechul—hoping that he looks more confident than he feels.  
  
But the brig is just as silent as the corridor, and the tingles traveling up Sungmin’s spine are telling.  
  
 _Where are the guards?_  
  
They can’t have all gone to the bathroom, or decided to take simultaneous breaks, and if they’re all having an orgy somewhere, Sungmin is going to eviscerate them as slowly and painfully as he can.  
  
He unlocks the door and it slides open, the Dust on the bars sparkling a bit as they move underneath the harsh lights. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with Zhou Mi’s appearance, as he’s wrapped tight in his blanket, nose pressed up against the cell wall.  
  
“Zhou Mi?”  
  
A little bit of a whimper escapes him, and Sungmin draws closer, smoothing Zhou Mi’s back with a long stroke. But still, the Scientist doesn’t move and Sungmin realizes that Zhou Mi is fighting for breath.  
  
“Mi?” he squeaks, and tries to get the blanket off.  
  
“No,” Zhou Mi’s voice cracks, breaks, and sounds like he hasn’t used his vocal cords in years, “No. Sungmin.”  
  
And then Sungmin sees it, slowly soaking through Zhou Mi’s shirt, leaking out of the corner of his mouth:  _blood_.  
  
The alarms suddenly start to go off, though he can’t recall hitting them, and he leaves the blankets, knowing Zhou Mi must have rolled himself tightly in them to try and keep the bleeding under control, though if it had actually helped it’d be a miracle.  
  
Regulation (a funny word to be using in conjunction with Runners) requires there to be a med kit in the brig at all times. Sungmin fumbles with its contents shooting Zhou Mi up with several drugs that will slow his bleeding and temper his pain. “Dust,” Zhou Mi slurs, “My Dust. Helps.”  
  
“You’re on Dust suppressing drugs, Zhou Mi, don’t be—“ He stops. “What?”  
  
“Can deal with it. Until. But more Dust would help.”  
  
 _What_.  
  
His questions are put off as Seunghyun is the first through the brig doors. “Where the hell are all the guards?”  
  
Sungmin doesn’t bother to say “gone” because that’s obvious enough, but it’s the only answer he can come up with. Seriously, if they’re having an orgy—  
  
“Oh, God.”  
  
Seunghyun sees the blood, now covering Sungmin’s hands as he presses against the wound in Zhou Mi’s stomach. He starts to speak into his comm and after “fucking blood everywhere, need a stretcher, find Hyunjoong, I can feel the Dust in him screwing everything up,” Sungmin tunes out everything but Zhou Mi. “What happened? Do you know?”  
  
“Duster,” Zhou Mi gasps, “Didn’t see. So powerful.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
There’s only so many people on board it could have been. But Sungmin can’t think about that right now. Seunghyun or Heechul or maybe Jiyong can review the brig footage and figure out what happened. Right now, Sungmin has to worry about keeping Zhou Mi alive.  
  
Jiyong comes through the doors next, Geunsuk wheeling a stretcher behind him. Sungmin watches Jiyong’s eyes narrow and the flow of blood sliding past Sungmin’s fingers slows. Temporary re-organization of Zhou Mi’s blood vessels. “I can’t fix it,” Jiyong starts, and Sungmin nods. Jiyong can control the flow of blood but Sungmin’s the medical expert on board; he’ll have to figure out what’s wrong. Insofar as he can tell, someone had torn through Zhou Mi’s middle, missing (perhaps purposefully) his vital organs.  
  
Between the four of them, they get Zhou Mi on the stretcher, and by the time they’re out in the corridor, word has somehow already spread. Crew members are poking their heads out of their barracks and one too many are whispering things like “serves him right, good riddance.”  
  
“If everyone doesn’t move out of the way,” Seunghyun roars, louder than Sungmin’s ever heard him be, “You will all be served half rations for a month.  _Get_.”  
  
Halfway to the medical bay, they nearly collide with Heechul, hair a mess, eye bags drooping half way down his face, yet somehow still intimidating and anyone that hadn’t been listening to Seunghyun, slams their doors shut. A few may have squeaked.  
  
“Who was it?” Is the first thing out of Heechul’s mouth. No one has an answer. “Geunsuk, with me,” he orders. No doubt security footage is calling his name, and as they walk away, Sungmin hears Heechul’s Dust-enhanced voice reverberate against the walls, “Fucking keep him alive or we’re all dead.”  
  
A dead Scientist leader on their hands will earn them no points.  
  
 _Stay alive_.  
  
His feet hit the floor with a crash as they wheel into the med bay. Someone had called ahead because everything is prepped and ready; Sungmin makes for the sink, reaching for soap to scrub his hands.  
  
“Put him under.”


	7. Chapter 7

  
Two of Zhou Mi’s ribs are broken from a hole (a literal, actual hole)  _punched_  into his stomach. Sungmin sees veins cut open across his body and after doing a few scans, he discovers Dust working into Zhou Mi’s systems to incapacitate him. But not kill him. It’s the weirdest thing; as extensive as the injuries are, Zhou Mi wouldn’t have died from them. His attacker had clearly timed it perfectly so that whomever brings him food would find him in time to save him. It’s nearly as perplexing as trying to figure out who would bother executing such a coordinated attack.  
  
Sungmin does all he can before calling in Jaejoong (under the guise of calling for Hyunjoong) and asking him to straighten out the Dust in Zhou Mi’s system because Sungmin can’t. Hours pass, which Sungmin spends re-reading charts and readouts and medical data before Jaejoong and Hyunjoong finish.  
  
“We’ve done what we can. Call us if you need anything else, okay?”  
  
 _Okay_. It’s strange, how Sungmin can find himself so incredibly worried about someone that is supposed to be his enemy. He had questioned Zhou Mi, befriended him to that end, but somehow in the mess of things, found himself attracted to the suave Scientist in Heechul’s brig. How to compartmentalize it? Sungmin hasn’t quite figured that out yet.  
  
He traces the backs of his fingers across Zhou Mi’s cheeks, happy that his face hadn’t been victim to the attack. Not that it would have mattered; Zhou Mi’s willingness to listen, his cheerful outlook on everything, how he cares for Sungmin even though he’s locked away, those are traits Sungmin likes, those are reasons that Sungmin can look at Zhou Mi and call him attractive. Handsome. His smile and his body are not as important, vital as they may be to living.  
  
“You’re killing me here,” Sungmin murmurs, and sits down, waiting for Zhou Mi to wake up.  
  
—  
  
The idea that someone could make three guards vanish into thin air and attack Zhou Mi with staggering amounts of Dust scares the daylights out of Jaejoong. He no longer feels safe, even though hours ago he had said the exact opposite to Yoochun.  
  
He calls an emergency meeting, Yoochun coming with Yoobin, Seunghyun and Jiyong coming after they make sure Sungmin’s not going to cry himself to sleep, and Hyunjoong, after scrubbing the blood from underneath his fingertips. He’d been especially useful in saving Zhou Mi; according to him, the attacker had been a nervous system Duster, something Jaejoong is not yet refined enough in his power to fix.  
  
“I’m scared,” he admits.  
  
In the silence following, Yoobin crawls off Yoochun’s lap and into Jaejoong’s arms, pressing her small body against his and causing tears to form in his eyes as she whispers, “Daddy will keep you safe. He keeps everybody safe.”  
  
“What do you want to do?” Jiyong asks.  
  
“I want people to stop fighting.”  
  
“So then who do you want to win?” Seunghyun presses.  
  
But it isn’t about that. It’s not about creating a third party to battle both sides either. It’s about the fact that fighting is only draining what resources they do have. The fighting has to stop.  
  
“But how to do that?” Seunghyun presses. “Jaejoong, that sounds nice—“  
  
“Fortunately,” Jaejoong says, “We have something both sides need.”  
  
“You?” Yoochun asks.  
  
Jaejoong shakes his head. “Dust,” he corrects. “We have Dust. A lot of it. Literal  _tons_  of very potent Dust.”  
  
“So you’ll give it to them?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Jaejoong admits.  
  
“It’s nice to share,” Yoobin lectures, still stuck to him like a limpet.  
  
He laughs, catching Yoochun’s proud smile in the corner of his eye, and pats her head. “It is good to share. Someone has taught you well and I wish it were that easy.”  
  
She nods sagely as if she knows exactly what he means.  
  
“Your safety should come first,” Jiyong says, “If you don’t feel safe here anymore, than maybe we do need to leave. We just need to be sure.” His voice softens. “ _You_  need to be sure.”  
  
“I don’t want to leave them with an invisible Scientist on board.”  
  
“Neither to do I,” Yoochun is quick to assert.  
  
“Okay,” Jiyong says, “So we find the invisible bastard and send him packing.”  
  
Jaejoong couldn’t get to Yoobin’s ears fast enough, and she gasped, pointing a finger in Jiyong’s face and turning to her father incredulously. “Daddy, he said a bad word!”  
  
The sound of laughter reverberates around the room, and as Yoochun stands and reaches for his daughter, Hyunjoong launches a a pillow at Jiyong’s face. “This is why you should never have kids.”  
  
“ _Hey_ ,” Jiyong pouts.  
  
“You know what, Yoobin?” Yoochun’s father voice is in place as he hoists Yoobin up onto his hip, “I’m more interested in how you knew that was a bad word.”  
  
Jaejoong laughs, tugging on Yoobin’s foot affectionately as she tries to wiggle out of Yoochun’s arms. “You guys are cute. Don’t get in too much trouble, Yoobin.”  
  
Yoochun scoffs, “She’s already in it,” but Heechul’s the only one who would swear in front of her, and Jaejoong’s sure Yoochun knows this.  
  
They leave, because it’s Yoobin’s bedtime anyway, and then it’s just four of them left.  
  
“After we tear the invisible man into shreds, what do we do?” Hyunjoong finally asks.  
  
“Where do we go?” Seunghyun corrects.  
  
It’s a difficult question. The parts of the solar system that aren’t under jurisdiction of the Scientists are cared for by the Runners, and staying in either area for too long will prove dangerous, especially since some of their faces are rather well known.  
  
“There is one place,” Jaejoong says, “But I don’t think we can stay there unless we can strike a bargain. A very specific bargain.”  
  
“Well,” Seunghyun cuts in, with a bit of a grin, “As you said. We have something that everyone needs.”  
  
—  
  
Jaejoong heads outside of the ship and into Heechul’s hideout to find Henry. He’s not yet sure if he can trust the boy (because boy he is,) but he’s the only one who can give Jaejoong the answers he needs.  
  
Heechul’s hideout is anything but normal. Tucked against a jagged part of Io, it’s perfectly hidden from anyone that doesn’t know it’s there, even if someone is looking for it. But because of that, a lot of the hideout is at an odd angle and therefore the buildings and marketplaces are skewed in a way that’s a bit unnatural. Thankfully, because Heechul likes Henry a lot, his house (and the house of his crew) is close to the hangar bay and the walk up the steep, hair-pin slopes is quick, though still a little irritating. Someday, Jaejoong will have to invest in Dust-hovercraft.  
  
Taemin lets Jaejoong into the house, smiling as he tilts his head up towards the second floor. “He’s with Donghae. Watch your step on the way up. Sulli and I have been experimenting with the staircase. It’s programmed to accept anyone on the the  _Ikati_ , but there are still a few bugs. So if it feels like the steps might collapse underneath you, start to run.”  
  
“Right,” Jaejoong nods, “Thanks.”  
  
“Also, can’t promise you that they’re clothed. You may walk in on something.”  
  
“I’ll take my chances.”  
  
Taemin shrugs before wandering away.  
  
Jaejoong shudders a little, and then eyes the staircase apprehensively. It’s not like anyone would break in here; everyone under Heechul’s care knows where his crew lives. No one would dare burgle the house, but who was Jaejoong to try and understand the way Taemin’s brain worked?  
  
When he knocks on Henry’s door, he finds that Taemin had indeed been correct. Both Henry and Donghae are wrapped in sheets, sprawled a bit haphazardly over one another, and they both give Jaejoong a smile when they see him. Two years ago Henry would have died of embarrassment and been ten different shades of red, Donghae laughing uproariously at his side, but now—Jaejoong smiles back at them—now Henry’s matured incredibly and it shows.  
  
“I’ll leave,” Donghae says, once Jaejoong announces he needs to speak with Heechul’s captain. “Don’t cheat on me,” Donghae says sweetly, and then grins, side stepping a swipe from Henry’s arm as they both get up (Jaejoong’s happy to note they’re both wearing boxers,) and stretch.  
  
“You could pick up that part for the  _Cadenza_ ,” Henry suggests, as he pulls a shirt over his head.  
  
“I could,” Donghae nods, “Or I could go bother Taemin. That sounds like more fun.” He leaves with pants half on and a sweatshirt thrown over his shoulder.  
  
Henry sighs. “What’s up?” he asks, throwing himself into an armchair. “Does Heechul need something?”  
  
“No,” Jaejoong sits opposite the captain, “I do.”  
  
“My ship?” Henry guesses, “Dust?” He frowns, “One of those without Heechul knowing?”  
  
“Sort of. Information without Heechul knowing.”  
  
“Taemin’s better with that sort of thing,” Henry tells him, reaching for his comm.  
  
“Information on Hankyung.”  
  
Henry’s hand stills, a mask suddenly falling across his features. “You want me to tell you about Hankyung. Without informing Heechul that I’ve told you about him.”  
  
“And then forget that I ever asked.”  
  
Henry cocks his head.  _He’s probably contemplating something evil_ , Jaejoong thinks, because Henry’s fiercely loyal to Heechul. But Henry’s also loyal to Hankyung and Jaejoong is counting on that loyalty winning out over his bargain (or is it contract? or partnership?) with Heechul.  
  
“Okay,” Henry nods, “I’ll tell you whatever you want and keep your secret. But I want you to tell me why you can’t tell Heechul.”  
  
“I can’t,” Jaejoong says, “At least not yet. You’ll find out in a bit.”  
  
“I’d like to know now,” Henry says, “Or no information.”  
  
Jaejoong’s eyes narrow. “Henry!”  
  
Henry grins, settling back with his arms crossed and ankles linked, toes wiggling happy in the low light of the room. “Fine,” Jaejoong mutters, “I need to leave Heechul for a little while.”  
  
Henry stops moving, the grin falling from his face. “Leave?”  
  
“Well. Hyunjoong does,” Jaejoong corrects himself quickly, “With everything that’s happened he doesn’t feel safe. And honestly, he’s putting everyone else in danger.”  
  
“Heechul needs him,” Henry points out, “And didn’t we enter this alliance in the first place so as to offer him maximum protection?”  
  
“Sometimes less is more. I think he’ll be safer with just a few of us; we should have done that in the first place.”  
  
Just him, Hyunjoong, Seunghyun, and probably Jiyong. Yoochun too, now that Jaejoong has met him. Though he wonders if Heechul would be alive if they hadn’t stayed with him for as long as they did.  
  
“So what does that have to do with Ge?”  
  
Jaejoong hasn’t spoken to the others about this yet, and he’s not sure how they’ll take it, given their last encounter with Hangeng, but it’s the only thing he can think of at the moment. “We need a place to stay for awhile while we figure things out.”  
  
“Hangeng isn’t going to just let you stay. You’re going to have to pay.”  
  
“We will.”  
  
“Not with money,” Henry presses.  
  
“We have Dust,” Jaejoong assures him, “That’s not something for you to worry about. I just want stats on his operations.”  
  
The sides of Henry’s face are sucked in a bit as he chews on them, considering Jaejoong carefully before nodding. “Alright. I have no idea what you’re up to, but Hyunjoong is important and if he doesn’t feel safe then maybe it’s best if he goes somewhere else for a bit. Wait here.”  
  
Jaejoong digs his fingers into Henry’s armchair as he watches the young captain disappear out of his room before coming back in a moment later, sweeping his hair back as he hands Jaejoong a datapad. “Contact information and stats,” Henry says, “Also, my private contact frequencies for here and the  _Cadenza_. If you need me, you only have to call. I’m all for making sure the brain Duster is safe.”  
  
“Thank you,” Jaejoong says earnestly, standing.  
  
“If you see Donghae on your way out, tell him he can come back up.”  
  
“I will,” Jaejoong promises. “Thank you, Henry.”  
  
“Broken record,” Henry says, flopping back down onto his bed and tossing his t-shirt back onto his floor.  
  
—  
  
Minho hasn’t yet let Zhou Mi know that he’s in the room. The runner—that Minho had come to learn as Sungmin—is a bit too intimidating, especially since he’s sleeping in a chair against Zhou Mi’s bed. Sungmin being a part of Zhou Mi’s plan is clearly a given, and now that someone had attacked Zhou Mi, Minho has no choice but to wait until Zhou Mi’s heals before trying to get him off the ship, if the Scientist leader lets him at all. If he didn’t know better, Minho would have thought that Zhou Mi had done this to himself, but after listening to Sungmin as he operated on Zhou Mi, Minho’s sure that’s not true.  
  
The runner stirs first, waking slowly, smiling as he sees Zhou Mi. Minho watches Sungmin look through the stats rolling off the monitors attached to Zhou Mi with wire and tubes, and then check a few of his vitals, entering them into a datapad at the foot of the bed before going to sit back down and it’s only minutes later when Zhou Mi wakes up as well.  
  
The way they smile at each other and the way Sungmin brushes his hand against Zhou Mi’s is very telling. They whisper far too quietly for Minho to catch what they say, and he decides after a while that he’s of no use here; better to go explore more of the the  _Ikati_  and come back when no one’s around.  
  
The door is half open and Minho slips through it without a problem. He hugs one side of the corridor, feeling the walls brush up against his clothing and picks his way through the ship, deciding that he needs to figure out which one of the crew members is a) the brain Duster and b) their rather elusive spy.  
  
He ignores the Kyuhyun sounding voice in his head telling him  _do not go near Heechul_ , and decides to head to the bridge. Since they are docked somewhere (Minho hasn’t yet ventured to figure that out,) it shouldn’t be crowded, and he loiters around the door to it for awhile, before someone exits and he’s able to enter without garnering any suspicion.  
  
It’s immediately apparent that being docked is not at all an indication of how busy the bridge would be. In retrospect, he realizes that with two captains now on board, it’s obviously a tight squeeze to fit both of their respective crews. He observes for a moment, before going to stand near Heechul. There seems to be a wide birth given to him and it’s a perfect bubble of space for Minho hover in.  
  
He looks around the bridge, noting the people he recognizes. Yoochun, Jungmo, Seunghyun, whom Minho knows is with Boa, but he’s unsure as to the rest of the crew, busy milling about the bridge, entering and reading data at whatever place they’ve been stationed.  
  
Five seconds later, a woman enters the bridge behind him, hair swept back in a ponytail, smile bright and happy, and he recognizes her as Boa.  
  
“You’ll never guess what I learned,” she announces, plopping into the seat beside Heechul that Jungmo had hurriedly abandoned. “That dust for Yunho we were going to raid? Sent to Hangeng’s hideout, some of it went straight to him.”  
  
Minho had heard of Hangeng from Kyuhyun. Not a runner, but not a spy, he played both sides, and is useful enough to both sides to not be obliterated. Though at the moment, it seems as though he’s not in the Runner’s favor, as most everyone in the room curses him, Heechul even slamming a fist into his chair.  
  
“While I’m grateful he helped us on Mars,” Jungmo growls, “I sort of want to blast him.”  
  
“Me too,” Heechul says, “But we can’t. I assume it was payment for helping the Scientists find us?”  
  
Boa nods, and Minho realizes that the ships that had suddenly appeared and blasted the Scientist fleet must have been Hangeng’s. His own irritation for the leader springs unbidden into his throat and he releases a bit of a hiss before he can help himself.  
  
Heechul whirls around to stare right at him.  
  
“The hell was that?” he asks.  
  
 _Crap_ , Minho realizes,  _Heechul is a voice Duster. I forgot._  Minho holds his breath, backing away slowly until he hits a console and he freezes.  
  
“No one,” Boa says, “Your ship is just old and it makes funny noises. We need a new one.”  
  
Heechul’s eyes narrow. “No. It was a voice.”  
  
And okay, Minho tells the screaming Kyuhyun in his head, maybe coming onto the bridge was a really bad idea. He’s really sorry he didn’t listen, he’ll never do it again, just please get him off there safely and he’ll leave Heechul alone forever and ever. Honest.  
  
“Heechul,” Jungmo says, “Sit back down and focus on what’s important. Like Hangkyung. And the Dust. And getting it back.”  
  
“We’re not raiding Hankyung,” Seunghyun says from where he’s sitting at a console, “That’s a stupid idea. We can find more Dust to raid—“ He stops suddenly, stares past Heechul. It’s right at Minho.  
  
 _Shit_. He knows that Seunghyun’s a Duster, though not what sort. But Minho knows that look on Seunghyun’s face—he had looked like that in the brig not a day earlier when Minho had barely escaped with his life.  
  
“What?” Yoochun asks. He’s apparently has come to understand Seunghyun very well, because he’s reaching for his gun.  
  
Minho wishes he had brought a gun, but metal is very difficult to hide with Dust, as it’s most unlike skin. He makes a decision, sliding his body quietly towards the door, heart pounding as Seunghyun’s eyes track him. Before he can make it there, Seunghyun’s hand slams down on his console, and there’s an unmistakable sound of the doors sealing, locking all of them inside. “I can feel you,” Seunghyun says calmly, raising a gun of his own, “And I will shoot you if you do not stop moving.”  
  
“Who are you talking to?” Jungmo asks, and he has his gun out as well, though it’s pointed at the floor.  
  
“The mother fucker Kyuhyun ‘Ported onto the ship,” Seunghyun says. “I know you’re there. I can feel your heart beating.”  
  
Blood Duster, then. Or heart. Muscle, perhaps. Yunho had once said he could feel people’s hearts beating. Minho moves a little more, testing Seunghyun’s ability, and comes to press against the locked door. Seunghyun’s gun follows him perfectly. It does not look good.  
  
“Open the door,” Minho says.  
  
The rest of the crew have their weapons out in seconds, and while it may have been stupid to acknowledge that he indeed existed, he decides it might be better to have a conversation than say nothing at all. “Open the door or I will kill all of you.”  
  
He is incapable of that, but they don’t know what he can do, and by the way a few guns waver, it had been at least marginally effective.  
  
“Reveal yourself,” Seunghyun says.  
  
“No. Unlock the door now.”  
  
“We’re not so stupid as to let you out of here,” Heechul growls.  
  
“I’m not so stupid as to show you my face,” Minho retorts easily, “Unlock that door or you will get hurt.”  
  
The wonderful thing about having a room full of Dusters, while admittedly dangerous, is that their bodies hold Dust that is just begging to be manipulated, and without even having to think about it, Minho flares the Dust in Heechul’s skin, pulling at it, warming it, until Heechul screeches a second later, clawing at his face and arms, trying to put out a fire that isn’t there.  
  
Seunghyun takes several steps towards him, gun still trained to Minho’s heart, but he doesn’t shoot.  _Because he wants information_ , Minho knows, and smiles. Trapped or no, he still has an advantage. They won’t kill him, and because they can’t see his body, he will not be arbitrarily shot at.  
  
“The door,” Minho insists, twisting Heechul’s Dust harder.  
  
“No,” Heechul screams, “Don’t let that—“  
  
Minho doesn’t let him finish, burning Heechul’s skin (mentally at least) even more, so that the sound coming from Heechul’s mouth is one continuous cry of agony.  
  
And then suddenly, the lock clicks, and the door opens up from the outside. Minho doesn’t wait, hurling himself through the opening and toppling right into a body on the other side. A body that belongs to Sungmin. They land in a heap, and Minho finds that Sungmin has him pinned against the floor and that there’s a strange sort of glazed look in his eyes.  
  
“Fuck,” Minho hears Jungmo say, “I thought I told him I wasn’t—“  
  
It’s obvious Sungmin can’t see him, but he can clearly feel him because the next thing Minho knows, Sungmin’s lips are on his, and he’s being kissed.  
  
“Gotcha,” A voice above him says.  
  
It’s the last thing he remembers hearing before blacking out.  
  


 

\--

 

Hauling an invisible man down to the brig proves to be an incredible challenge. His arms and legs keep slipping out from Jaejoong’s grasp as he and Seunghyun move him down, trying to arrange him on a cell cot. “Can you reverse the Dust in his skin?” Seunghyun asks.  
  
“I can try,” Jaejoong mutters, “But I’ve never manipulated much skin Dust before.”  
  
It’s never been something he’s thought a lot about, focusing mostly on the big picture, not concerned with the smaller elements of his ability. But the idea intrigues him, and it seems as though this person is particularly adept at it. Even his clothes are coated with Dust and Jaejoong would really like to know the technique used to hide them.  
  
He finds the man’s wrist easily, latching onto it and using his pulse as a point to track the blood pumping through his veins to get a picture of the man’s body type and size. He seems to be in very good health, and Jaejoong feels the blood circulate for awhile longer before pushing outwards, tentatively probing the skin he encounters and trying to decipher the way the Dust is reacting with it. “This is going to take awhile,” he tells Seunghyun. “I’ve never seen anything so intricately woven. I’m going to have to separate the Dust from his skin speck by speck. It could take hours.”  
  
“Would Dust-repressing drugs help?”  
  
“Maybe,” Jaejoong nods, “Let’s try.”  
  
He keeps hold on the man’s Dust as Seunghyun measures out the drug into a syringe. Jaejoong can feel the liquid as it’s pumped into the man’s veins, and nods in satisfaction as quite a bit of the Dust releases from his skin, latching onto the drug instead and reacting with it before fizzling out of existence. “Better,” he nods, “If you can give him more, then do it.”  
  
“I can,” Seunghyun nods, “With so much Dust he should be able to take another dose.”  
  
It’s easier after that to undo the rest of the invisibility, and following a half hour of work, there’s a  _visible_  man lying in a cell that Jaejoong doesn’t recognize. Seunghyun scans him, the beeping of his datapad echoing in the cell, and it takes a moment for the face to register. “Choi Minho,” Seunghyun reads aloud. “Does that sound familiar to you?”  
  
“No,” Jaejoong shakes his head.  
  
“Looks like he’s stationed on the  _Seersha_. Heechul probably knows more about him. I’m going to go talk to him. Are you good here?”  
  
“Yes,” Jaejoong nods, “I’ll stay here until you can find a reliable guard. I have nothing better to do anyway.”  
  
“I’ll send Daesung down. He’s good with prisoners.”  
  
Seunghyun laughs as Jaejoong gives an involuntary shudder.  
  
He waits until Seunghyun leaves before turning back to the prisoner named Minho. Jaejoong, while walking down here, had formulated a plan that would help him not only get off the ship, but allow him to keep tabs on the Scientists and their plans for Heechul and Boa while away. Slowly, so as not to startle the man, Jaejoong used a little Dust to wake him up.  
  
The drugs keep him from doing anything rash, and he groans, perhaps in realization that he is caught, perhaps because he’s in pain. Maybe both.  
  
“How do you feel?” Jaejoong asks carefully, helping him to sit up and rest against the wall.  
  
Minho whimpers.  
  
“I only have a few minutes, so I need you to listen very carefully to what I have to say and remember it exactly. My name is Jaejoong,” he says, “I am your spy.”  
  
He’s a little proud of himself for coming up with this scheme. If Minho already knows the real spy’s identity, Jaejoong will now know, and find a way to extract that information from him. If he doesn’t, then Minho will hopefully trust him enough to form a temporary alliance, or at least one long enough to get off the ship. He thinks. He still has to convince Jiyong of that.  
  
But Minho looks skeptical.  
  
“I know you have no reason to believe me,” Jaejoong says, “But you’ll just have to trust that I’m telling you the truth. Heechul is already talking about sending one or even two people down here to convince you that they are the spy, and so I wanted to assert that they are fakes.”  
  
A lie, but Jaejoong expects the real spy to try and make contact with Minho, and it’s best to dissuade that as early as he can.  
  
“Okay,” Minho nods. “You can prove it by getting Zhou Mi and I out.”  
  
“Zhou Mi is in no condition to move anywhere. But you I can get out.”  
  
“I can wait,” Minho says, “Especially now that I needn’t maintain my invisibility.”  
  
“You cannot wait,” Jaejoong shakes his head, “And neither can I.”  
  
A bang in the hallways alerts him to someone approaching, and he gives Minho a last warning glare before Daesung strolls inside. “I’m going to give you more drugs. Hold your arm still, I don’t want to force you.”  
  
“I’m not going to try anything,” Minho says, “I can barely move as it is.”  
  
Jaejoong ignores him, filling another syringe with a mild sedative and sliding it into a vein with ease. “Rest,” he whispers, “Save your strength. Being awake and available for questions will not help you in any way.”  
  
Realization dawns in Minho’s eyes just as they start to droop. “Thank you,” he mumbles, and in a minute is passed out, drool already sliding down his left cheek. Jaejoong takes moment to wipe it away. Asleep and Dust-less, Minho looks more like a kid than an enemy infiltrator.  
  
“What are you planning?” Daesung asks curiously, eyebrows knitting together, his staple smile gone.  
  
“Something brilliant,” Jaejoong assures him, “Don’t tell anyone just yet.”  
  
Daesung does not look pleased, but he shrugs, and in a moment, the smile is back as he sits himself down at the tech area and pulls up some schematics.  
  
“Let me know if you need anything. And no one is allowed to see him unless they have Heechul or Jiyong’s express permission.  _No one_.”  
  
He’s saluted, perhaps half in jest, but because it’s Daesung, Jaejoong doesn’t care. He leaves the brig feeling much better about the whole situation and goes to find Hyunjoong, who is rather predictably in engineering and overseeing repairs. Jaejoong waits until Hyunjoong has a moment before dragging him into an alcove to speak privately. “So I’ve done something a bit rash,” he starts, “But I think it will work out in our favor.”  
  
Hyunjoong does not look impressed once he hears the story, but has to admit that Minho might actually be of use to them. “Heechul may want to keep him on board as another hostage, but having two is dangerous, and if we let him go and he thinks that I’m the spy, then we can feed him false information, and that way even if I’m not on the  _Ikati_ , I can keep everyone safe.”  
  
“But what happens when the real spy sends them information?”  
  
“Then we tell him it’s just Heechul trying to thwart me.”  
  
“But they’ll realize we’re lying when the information is fake.”  
  
“Not for awhile. And if we need to, we give them real information and then save everyone at the last minute.”  
  
“I don’t think you’ve thought this through all the way,” Hyunjoong finally frowns, “I think we should all talk about it.”  
  
“Well, it’s too late for that,” Jaejoong says, “Now, go back to your engines before people think we’re making out.”  
  
—  
  
Lee Sora is probably the most perfect baby in existence.  
  
She sleeps perfectly, eats perfectly, and Jinki is relieved at how easy it becomes to adjust to her schedule. He cares for her as much as his fiancé lets him, but decides his time is much better spent spoiling her, which in turn allows her to take much better care of their daughter. It’s a job he doesn’t much mind, and probably never will.  
  
“You know,” Sunyoung tells him, as they feed Sora at two o’clock in the morning, “If you want to go help Yunho, I’ll be okay here. We both know he needs you.”  
  
“You need me more,” Jinki says. He pries Sora’s hand off of Sunyoung’s shirt, smiling as he feels her grip his pinky tight. “She needs me,” he continues, “Even if it means we lose to the Runners, I don’t want to leave either of you right now.”  
  
“Lee Jinki,” Sunyoung frowns, “That’s a terrible thing to say.”  
  
“It’s the truth,” he assures her, “Sunyoung, I’m not leaving you right now. No matter what.”  
  
“And if I go?”  
  
Her eyebrow is raised, a slight in crease in her brow as she regards him, and the sheets swish a little as he pulls away. “Where?” he asks. “Sunyoung—“  
  
He pouts, because he’s pretty sure he knows that look. A few years back, he’d seen that look on her face when she’d accepted her position as Yunho’s secretary without telling Jinki first, and then when she’d bought them an apartment and moved all of his stuff into it without asking.  
  
“What did you do?” Jinki asks her, dread creeping into the pit of his stomach.  
  
“Nothing too terrible.”  
  
“Sunyoung!”  
  
“Don’t shout,” she hisses, clutching Sora to her chest.  
  
“Love of my life,” Jinki says in a lower tone, “What have you done?”  
  
“I got us a job,” she sniffs, cuddling Sora a little more. “It’s easy, and we can be together and help Yunho all at the same time.”  
  
Jinki gapes.  
  
“He needs help with a plan to get Dust from the Runners. He’s setting up a business in the Asteroid Field and needs people to get it started.”  
  
“You signed us up to be spies!” Jinki yelps, and scoots back further on the bed. “Sunyoung, we have a daughter. A daughter we have to keep safe. We can’t just—we can’t!”  
  
Sunyoung smiles, her hand warm where she slides it across Jinki’s thigh to pat his knee. “We will be safe. We’re not spying, we’re just setting up a business in need and getting Dust.”  
  
“But the Runner’s know me! Some of them could probably recognize you! It’s not safe, Sunyoung.”  
  
“But we won’t be with Runners, technically. Ryeowook’s found a place that’s not under Runner jurisdiction but still gets help from them—it’s run by a third party that’s mildly friendly with us. We’ll be able to get some Dust back and live safely among allies.” She reaches for his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk with you first, but I know you’d say no.”  
  
“I  _am_  saying no.”  
  
His fingers are squeezed. “You’re objecting, but this will be good for us. We can have all sorts of time with each other and Sora and be on our own, at least for a little while. Family bonding and all that.”  
  
“ _Sunyoung_ —“  
  
“I love you,” she whispers, “Jinki, you and Sora are everything to me. But you know how I am. I can’t just sit still, and I know you—you want to help Yunho, you  _love_  what you do. This gives us the chance to do it all. So say yes.”  
  
Maybe it’s the way the light softens her features, or the way she looks as she holds Sora close, her hand still gripping Jinki’s tightly: beautiful, so sure, and Jinki knows he’s lost.  
  
“Okay,” he breathes, “Fine. But I have one condition. We bump up the wedding and you marry me first. I’m not going to go unless I have you as my wife.”  
  
—  
  
“So here’s my plan,” Jaejoong starts.  
  
Hyunjoong snorts against the pillow he’s holding to his face, clearly displeased.  
  
“You shut up. You’re not allowed an opinion.”  
  
“If Hyunjoong doesn’t like it,” Yoochun starts, “I’m not sure I’m going to either. The last crazy idea you had landed us with a captive Scientist leader.”  
  
“My ideas are brilliant.” Jaejoong glowers for a moment before continuing. “I told Minho that I was the spy.”  
  
There’s silence for a moment before Yoochun’s mouth drops and Seunghyun lets out a groan of frustration, his forehead thunking loudly onto the table. “See?” Hyunjoong points, “ _Bad idea_.”  
  
“It’s not bad,” Jaejoong insists, “he’s going to be our way out of here.”  
  
“How?”  
  
“We’re going to let him go.”  
  
A pillow smashes into Jaejoong’s face.  
  
“That is the  _worst_ —“  
  
“How could that  _possibly_ —“  
  
Jaejoong lobs the pillow back at Hyunjoong, tackling him to the floor and pinning him there. “Just shut up and listen to me,” he screeches, and grabs onto all the Dust he can manage. All four of them are thrown onto the couch. “Listen to me,” he impresses, a finger pointing in their faces.  
  
“I understand your fears,” he starts, and glares when Hyunjoong rolls his eyes. “I do. But I’ve thought a lot about this. One captive Kyuhyun and Yunho can ignore. As much as they probably want him rescued, it’s not worth it to launch an attack to get him back, at least not yet. But having two prisoners, especially two that are so influential and powerful, is just asking for trouble. If we let one go, and that one thinks that I am a spy, then we have one more way to manipulate them, and Heechul is that much safer from an all out attack. So we break Minho out of jail, frame the spy, and then use him as an excuse to leave Heechul’s ship for awhile. By the time Heechul realizes that we’ve left for good, we’ll be long gone, and everyone will be safe.”  
  
He releases his hold on their Dust slowly, expecting them to lash back. They don’t, but the fire in Jiyong’s eyes makes him take a step back and lower his gaze.  
  
“And the reason we can’t just leave and tell Heechul we’re going to get Dust?”  
  
“We won’t all be able to go,” Jaejoong points out, “We’ll have to submit regular reports, and he’ll probably want us to take more people. I know it’s questionable, and that a lot of things can go wrong, but Heechul would never agree to setting Minho free and he’s too proud to admit that holding him captive is harmful to us.”  
  
“And you’re sure you want to leave?” Yoochun asks, “One hundred percent positive?”  
  
“Yes,” Jaejoong nods, “At least for right now.”  
  
“What are you planning on doing after we leave?” Jiyong asks.  
  
“We’re going to go get my Dust,” Jaejoong says, “And then, we’re going to go get help in trying to figure out how it was made and why it’s different.”  
  
“Help from whom?” Jiyong presses.  
  
“Don’t freak out,” Jaejoong says, “But Hangeng.”  
  
Considering how he had treated them before, Jaejoong hand’t expected the rest of them to be happy about dealing with him, and they aren’t. But they don’t have a choice. There’s no other place that they can stay for an extended period of time and remain safe. “Hangeng has similar aspirations in regards to Dust,” Jaejoong says, “If it means finding out a way to make it, then I know he won’t harm me. Not that he could, even if he wanted.”  
  
“That’s really dangerous.”  
  
“I know,” Jaejoong says, “I know it is. And if you don’t want to come with me, that’s fine. But I have to do this. I’m the only one that can do this.”  
  
“Not alone,” Jiyong growls. “Ugh. You are so irritating and egotistical and correct. Perhaps unfortunately so.”  
  
Jaejoong grins.  
  
“We’ll take the  _Arach_ ,” Jiyong says, “But that means I get to keep some crew members. Daesung, specifically.”  
  
“I like Daesung,” Jaejoong nods. “Seungri I don’t want, though. I’m sorry, but I don’t think he’d be much of an asset.”  
  
“He’s going to be hurt,” Seunghyun says, “But I agree. I think he’ll be of more use to Heechul here. He’ll be happy once he gets over it. I’m sure Boa will have him doing something useful; he’s always wanted a more powerful position.”  
  
Yoochun promises his cooperation, reiterating that Yoobin will be coming with them, and they agree to ask Sungmin as well, since he already knows that Jaejoong is the real brain Duster. “He may want to get away from Jungmo,” Jaejoong says, “But now that’s he’s formed a sort of bond with Zhou Mi, I’m not sure he’ll agree to it.”  
  
“Well, it can’t hurt to ask,” Yoochun says.  
  
“Timetable?” Seunghyun questions.  
  
“As soon as we can, preferably before Heechul figures out what to do with Minho.”  
  
“How are we going to get him out?”  
  
“I’ll take care of that,” Jaejoong says. “You just get your ship ready.”  
  
“Are we really going to do this?” Seunghyun persists.  
  
“We really are,” Jaejoong nods, standing finally. He can hear his joints crack.  
  
“Grandpa,” Seunghyun hisses, and Jaejoong throws a pillow at him.  
  
—  
  
Sungmin waits until Zhou Mi’s healed a bit more before deciding that it’s time he gets some of his questions answered.  
  
“I looked you up in our database,” he says, “And while it doesn’t say what your ability with Dust is, it notes that you’re very powerful. Earlier you said that your Dust helped you when you were hurt, and so I’m curious. You had enough drugs in you to keep even a brain Duster at bay, and yet you were clearly using Dust to regulate your body. So I want to know—how did you do that?”  
  
“You think I’d tell you that?” Zhou Mi asked, an amused expression on his face.  
  
“I’m the only one that gives a shit about you right now,” Sungmin warns him, “I don’t mean that as a threat. It’s just that I want to help you recover, and I can’t do that unless I know everything about you. If Dust helps you, and you’ve somehow been able to beat the drugs, then I’ll stop giving them to you so that your Dust can help you more. But I have to know that you aren’t dangerous and that you aren’t going to try and kill anyone.”  
  
The monitor next to the bed beeps in the silence that follows, Zhou Mi regarding him carefully before he nods. “Okay. I like you, Sungmin, so I’ll be honest. I’m a stamina Duster.”  
  
“What does that mean?”  
  
“It means that I can deal with anything inflicted upon my body, from exhaustion to drugs, so long as I have Dust.”  
  
“You can beat back Dust repressing drugs with Dust? How is that possible?”  
  
“Stamina,” Zhou Mi impresses. “It doesn’t matter what it is, if it wears me down, I can cope with it. Exhaustion, hunger, torture, anything. ”  
  
“But,” Sungmin says slowly, “The Dust reader. Did you manipulate that?”  
  
“I just allowed the drugs to do their job when you came in to check me,” Zhou Mi says, “And then burned the drugs away when you were done. The only time I’ve never been able to withstand anything is when your brain Duster friend—Hyunjoong, I think, yes?—well, what he did to me was overwhelming. I couldn’t do anything about that because for one, he was more powerful than me, and two,” Zhou gives Sungmin a smile, “I wanted what was happening to my body, at least to a certain extent. I wanted to want you.”  
  
Sungmin blushes appropriately. “And when you were attacked?”  
  
“That was hard to combat as well. I think that person knew I could withstand their attacks and planned accordingly. Sungmin, like you told me that first day,” Zhou Mi shrugs, “I have no where to go. I admit once we docked I was planning to make a run for it, but then this happened,“ he gestures to the wound on his stomach, “And now I’m stuck here for awhile longer.”  
  
“You think you could have gotten out?” Sungmin asks.  
  
“I  _would_  have,” Zhou Mi says.  
  
Sungmin frowns. “I don’t know what to say to that.”  
  
“You don’t have to say anything.”  
  
“Why are you telling me this?”  
  
“I like you,” Zhou Mi admits, “You were kind to me, even if you were just trying to get information. And we had sex,” he adds, voice softening, “Which I also liked and when I’m better I’d like to do again. But see, Sungmin, we’re on different teams, which I keep forgetting. We have different ideals and—I don’t know. I want to go back. But I don’t want to leave you. So I want you to tell me what you have against Scientists.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“So I can change it,” Zhou Mi says, “And so we can go back to Earth together.”  
  
—  
  
Boa gets a call from Yunho in the middle of tinkering with Jiyong’s ship. She likes to do that once and while to take her mind off problems.  
  
“Hey beautiful.”  
  
Boa checks to make sure she’s alone before switching on her viewer. “Hi, stranger. What’s up?”  
  
“I have a meeting in the Asteroid Field that I have to be at, but I wanted to know if you would like to come along.”  
  
“As a sexy wallflower to keep in your hotel room?” Boa teases.  
  
“Exactly,” Yunho smirks, “The meeting’s only for a few hours, but I think I’ll stay there for a few days at least, see the station, do some exploring. Interested?”  
  
“Possibly,” Boa pretends to consider it. “What’s the going rate?”  
  
“As much as you want,” Yunho grins.  
  
“Then you can come pick me up at the station.”  
  
“Tomorrow?”  
  
“Sounds perfect.”  
  
Her grin is gone when they hang up replaced by a frown as she thinks. The only space station she knows of in the Field is Hangeng’s, and if Yunho is going there for a meeting, then she should without a doubt be there. And if it’s not Hangeng’s, then it means Yunho will be taking her to a station no one knows about, which will be very good reconnaissance.  
  
Or, she’s being set up, and this is the time when Yunho will clap her in Dust manacles and torture information out of her.  
  
Either way, it’s Yunho. And Yunho’s always worth the risk.

 

\--

 

Usually, the atmosphere on the  _Ikati_  is good, especially when they’re about to take off to find Scientists to raid. But today, for some inexplicable reason, not only does he not feel the need to be cheerful, but everyone else seems reluctant to even smile. It's a bad sign, and Heechul fears that this will not be a good day.  
  
“Where is that seratonin Duster?” he asks, unable to do anything but frown.  
  
“With Jiyong,” Geunsuk says, “He and Seunghyun have been working on their ship. Want me to get them?”  
  
“No,” Heechul growls, “They’ll probably just irritate me anyway. I actually don’t want anyone to make  _me_  happy.”  
  
“Just everyone else?”  
  
Heechul nods. “Exactly. I can be as bitchy as I want and Daesung can make everyone love it. It’s spectacular.”  
  
“Maybe you should find a hobby,” Geunsuk suggests.  
  
“I have a hobby,” Heechul says, running an obvious eye down the length of Geunsuk’s body, “Want me to show you?”  
  
“Maybe you should find  _another_  hobby,” Geunsuk rolls his eyes.  
  
“Why do that when I have Jungmo?” Heechul returns, just as easily, and allows Geunusk’s laugh to be the end of their exchange. He may not do relationships, but he considers that different than being loyal, especially where Geunsuk is concerned.  
  
The comm beeps, the red light blinking to the point of irritation, and Heechul slaps at it. “What?”  
  
“Get down to the brig. Choi Minho’s gone.”  
  
The fan cycles air into the bridge twice before Heechul actually registers what Yoochun had said, and Heechul takes a moment to hit the ship-wide alarms for lockdown before bolting out the door. He sprints, the sound of Geunsuk’s feet hitting the corridor behind him, and finds Yoochun tugging on his hair in frustration, two guards cowering in one corner of the brig. He frowns at them for a moment, recognizing them as people he hired from Hankyung’s base, and has half a mind to lock the incompetent idiots up.  
  
“What happened?”  
  
“Came to deliver food and he was  _gone_ ,” Yoochun hisses, “I’ve locked the ship down, but there’s a fighter missing. He could have been off the ship hours ago.”  
  
With all sorts of information, Heechul knows. Probably enough to lead Kyuhyun right to them and obliterate the entire Runner faction. “I knew this was going to be a shitty day. Keep us on lockdown and make sure we still have Zhou Mi. We can’t lose him too.”  
  
Yoochun nods, hands already dialing into his comm and Heechul is not at all surprised when he starts to speak with Sungmin. He may have fucked Zhou Mi, but Heechul knows that Sungmin would never betray him; he’s had too many hurts and frustrations at the hands of the Scientists to ever switch sides.  
  
“Put an alert out into the hideout,” Heechul tells Geunsuk, “Along with a promise of reward. Do not let any ships in or out. And find out where that fighter went.” It could have just been a distraction, Minho still hiding somewhere on the  _Ikati_ , or even just coincidence, one of Heechul’s pilots forgetting to sign out a ship in haste; it had happened before. So to be safe, they will check everywhere. “Where’s Boa?”  
  
“She literally just left to go back to the station. Like five minutes ago, I’m not even joking.”  
  
“Comm her to make sure Minho didn’t sneak aboard her fighter. And then get me Jiyong.”  
  
—  
  
Seunghyun watches carefully from the hatch of the  _Arach_. Jaejoong had, as promised, managed to break Minho out of the brig, and by the sound of Heechul screeching through the comm, Jaejoong had been successful in his attempts to leave no traces.  
  
Taemin (via Henry) had given them a program that would allow a fighter to pilot itself out of sensor range, and stay there until picked up (or it ran out of Dust fuel) which would give Heechul a good reason to order Jiyong and his ship out to find it.  
  
Seunghyun is impressed, if a bit stressed that Minho is now hiding on Jiyong’s ship. While he had agreed that it’s the safest place for Minho to stay until they could take off, the amount of people willing to search for the Scientist is making him incredibly nervous.  
  
He abandons the hatch, weaving his way through corridors and towards the small room where Minho is hiding. They had locked the door, but Seunghyun himself had made sure Minho knew it was only to keep him safe.  
  
The door hisses as Seunghyun opens it halfway, and he pokes his head through it. He swallows down the hate that bubbles up in his stomach whenever he thinks about the fact that he’s  _helping a Scientist escape_  and forces a smile onto his face. “How are you doing?”  
  
“Fine,” Minho nods, “Nervous.”  
  
“Heechul’s ransacking the whole ship and we’ve sent out a dummy fighter, so hang in there.”  
  
“Thank you,” Minho says, a smile of his own threatening to blossom.  
  
Seunghyun nods, sliding the door shut again. He hears Heechul yelling through the intercom again and his stomach twists. This feels a lot like treason; Seunghyun doesn’t like it at all. He’d rather be doing anything, even hard labor, just not—  
  
Boots pound outside the  _Arach_ , and the feel of the hearts accompanying them tells Seunghyun it’s not anyone that should be anywhere near the ship, even if they didn’t have a Scientist hiding on board. Two guards are entering the hatch just as he makes it there.  
  
“What do you think you’re doing?” He layers his voice with as much force as he can, and two guards that are ducking into a corridor come to a sudden halt.  
  
“Oh,” one stutters, “Ah, well we’ve been ordered to search the area, so—“  
  
“You don’t think I’ve done that?” Seunghyun growls, “Get off my ship right now and go spend time searching other places that haven’t been checked.”  
  
They bow, and Seunghyun can feel their hearts beating wildly as they back out as fast as they can. He tries not to puff in pride, settling instead for a hint of a smirk. So he occasionally enjoys power; he won’t be able to for awhile, so it’s best to use what he can now and get it out of his system.  
  
He’s still smiling a bit, running through ship diagnostics, when he feels Jiyong’s heart approaching the ship.  
  
“Heechul’s in a tizzy.”  
  
Seunghyun shakes the comm in his hand, grinning. “I heard. Jaejoong?”  
  
“Pretending to scour the security footage with Hyunjoong. He’s going to show Heechul the fake footage of Minho sneaking onto the ship in a few minutes.”  
  
“Ready for this?” Seunghyun asks.  
  
Jiyong shrugs, curling easily into Seunghyun’s side with a slight smile. “With you here? Yeah. With the rest of them? Only because you trust them.”  
  
“You can stay,” Seunghyun whispers, finger pressing into the sweat gathering at the back of Jiyong’s neck, a testament to his nerves, “I’m not trying to make you do anything you don’t want. I will miss you—desperately miss you—but you don’t have to do this.”  
  
“Are you trying to be funny?” Jiyong hisses, “I don’t want to be the only one of us left to deal with Heechul when he realizes that his brain Duster left him. No, thank you.”  
  
Seunghyun laughs, his world going black for a few seconds as he holds Jiyong close. “Let’s prep,” he says, “I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”  
  
It seems as though there isn’t much to be done, the usually long pre-flight checklist complete in what seems to be minutes, and Seunghyun’s soon itching to do something else as they wait. “Did you talk to Daesung?” he asks.  
  
“Briefly. I asked him if he had to choose between Boa or I, which one would he pick. He said me, so I told him to be on the ship and ready to go when I say.”  
  
Not that Seunghyun had expected anything different. Daesung is loyal to a fault, and even the idea that he wouldn’t come along is preposterous. And sure enough, not knowing anything, Daesung arrives when he’s told, tossing a bag into his barracks, and sitting himself down comfortably behind the piloting readouts.  
  
“I won’t ask questions until we’re away,” he says, “But I do want answers.”  
  
“We’ll give them,” Seunghyun promises.  
  
Daesung smiles so wide his eyes disappear.  
  
Yoochun comes on board next, Yoobin sleeping in his arms, only waking when he passes her to Daesung so he can go put away their belongings. It’s funny, how easily she transfers from person to person, even as she scrambles off Daesung’s lap to give Seunghyun’s legs a comforting squeeze.  
  
“We’re leaving,” she sighs.  
  
“Are you sad?” Seunghyun asks her.  
  
Her face scrunches up as she regards him like he’s just asked a very stupid question. “I’m with Daddy,” she says imperiously, and marches back to Daesung.  
  
“I’m the only one that loves you,” Daesung coos, and she nods, just as Yoochun comes back onto the bridge. He doesn’t at all seem perturbed that his daughter doesn’t want to sit with him, busying himself with the tech board. Seunghyun gives up trying to understand them.  
  
“So, I guess Jaejoong is going to pilot then,” he says.  
  
“I call Captain,” Jiyong jokes, and Seunghyun pinches him.  
  
The rest of them come back within moments, Jaejoong with permission from Heechul to find the rogue fighter before it gets into Scientist space, and that’s that.  
  
There’s no fanfare as they leave, no last minute communication from Heechul, just the hangar bay doors opening wide enough for the _Arach_  to slip through. Seunghyun’s stomach churns and he knows it has less to do with the ‘Hole they just dropped through and more to do with the fact that he had just abandoned Boa.  
  
“Is everyone okay?” Jaejoong’s gaze is trained onto his piloting readouts, white hands still gripping his controls as he keeps his voice even.  
  
The sound of engines pulsing smoothly is the only answer he gets, but it’s enough. No one’s a wreck, and that, at least, is good.  
  
—  
  
Hyunjoong jumps them to Jaejoong’s Dust after they pick up the fighter. They land in the middle of a wash of white, and after a quick sensor sweep, realize something’s a little bit different about the Dust, something extraordinary. A second scan confirms it: there’s  _more_ Dust than there had been three years ago.  
  
Jaejoong’s astounded, staring in disbelief at the readouts scrolling across his datapad.  
  
“How can there be  _more_?” Hyunjoong asks.  
  
Someone cannot be dumping it here, Jaejoong knows, because the sensors Hyunjoong had sent had never gone off. He’s also positive that the scans they had done are correct, and so it can’t be the fault of misinformation.  
  
“Is it growing on it’s own?” Seunghyun asks, jaw dropping as he comes to the same conclusions as Jaejoong.  
  
“If that’s what’s happening,” Jaejoong whispers, “Then this is more than just very potent Dust.”  
  
“Is it  _reproducing_?” Seunghyun demands.  
  
“Dust babies,” Yoochun says faintly, “Who would have thought?”  
  
“Let’s run as many scans as we can,” Jiyong says, “Get as much of this Dust on board as possible, and then figure out what to do when we get to Hangeng’s. I’m sure we can convince them to let us use their equipment.”  
  
Jaejoong directs operation Gather All of My Dust. As a runner, Jiyong has plenty of Moondust magnets aboard, as well as robotic instruments to fly out into space. But even utilizing all of these, it takes them several hours to gather only a small percentage of it.  
  
Daesung is astounded, his normal smile replaced by an unhinged jaw until it registers in his mind that this Dust is for  _them_ , and then the smile is back, and his jubilant attitude affects everyone else’s. Even when they realize that there’s so much Dust that they can’t take it all with them, no one gets upset. It’s not technically a problem, after all.  
  
“We’ll just come back later and get the rest of it once we’ve settled,” Jaejoong says. “And my ship, as well.” The ancient frigate still holds a soft spot in Jaejoong’s heart and he’s a little loathe to get rid of it; that it has survived for 500 years still amazes him and he’s tempted to see how much longer it will last.  
  
“What are we doing with all of it?” Daesung asks.  
  
“You’ll each get a portion,” Jaejoong says, “Some of it we’ll need to hide here on the ship, some we’ll hide at Hangeng’s base once we find an appropriate spot, and I want to hide some on Earth, if we can.”  
  
“Why such a wide spread?”  
  
“In case the Scientists find it,” Seunghyun answers easily. “It’s easier to detect all together, but if it’s spread out, there’s less of a chance it’ll be discovered and even if that does happen, then at least it’ll only be a small portion.”  
  
“I want to give a little to Hangeng as well,” Jaejoong confesses, “That speck that he had before—it really intrigued me. I’m willing to join forces with him if we can figure out how this Dust was made. I feel like this Dust is the key to that, especially now that it’s started to multiply.”  
  
“We’ll make periodic checks back here,” Jiyong says, “Just to monitor this Dust that’s left. It’ll be interesting to see if it will still grow.”  
  
“As well as the Dust we put into safe keeping,” Jaejoong says. “There are so many variables to consider. I wish we had come back here sooner.” He’s an idiot for not doing so.  
  
“We’ll figure it out,” Jiyong promises. “We have all the time in the world now.”  
  
—  
  
They let Minho out after jumping away from the Dust and dropping in close to the belt, a little bit aways from Hangeng’s base, ever careful of the Scientists scanners sweeping near them. It wouldn’t do to be caught now. “Are you doing alright?” Jaejoong asks Minho kindly, patting his shoulder.  
  
“A little cramped,” He admits.  
  
Jaejoong smiles, “I’m sure. Sorry for keeping you hidden for so long.”  
  
“You don’t have to apologize. Though if you could direct me to a toilet of some sort, that would be amazing.”  
  
Jaejoong laughs, guiding Minho to one of the ‘freshers located in the back of the ship and waits outside for him. Afterwards, Jaejoong makes the relevant introductions, and the only person that manages to be genuinely accepting of him is Yoobin. Though, Jaejoong knows, Yoobin loves everyone.  
  
“So,” Minho begins, once Jaejoong’s scrounged up some food for him, “What are you planning on doing?”  
  
“With you?” Jaejoong raises an eyebrow, “Or just in general?”  
  
Minho takes a sip of his water. “Both.”  
  
“My plan is not to fly to Earth, if that’s what you’re asking me to do.”  
  
“Are you in charge?”  
  
“Jiyong is captain,” Jaejoong says, even though he knows it’s not an answer. Technically, he is leading their little group, but the  _Arach_  is Jiyong’s and Jaejoong wouldn’t want anyone other than Jiyong in charge of it. “We’re heading somewhere neutral,” he says. “A base in the asteroid field.”  
  
“Hangeng’s,” Minho says immediately, nodding. “I can get to Earth from there. Unless you’re planning on keeping me around.”  
  
“No, you’re free to go where you want.”  
  
“Then can I ask, why Hangeng?’”  
  
“I have something he wants,” Jaejoong admits, “And until he gets it, I know we’ll be safe there.”  
  
“What is that?”  
  
Jaejoong contemplates for approximately five seconds, thinking that maybe Minho should know about the Dust. But really, Jaejoong doesn’t know anything about their guest, and he’s pretty sure anything he says to Minho is going to end up in a report on Yunho’s desk.  
  
So Jaejoong just smiles. “I may be your spy,” he says, “But it doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you everything. We all need our secrets, Minho, and we all have things that we need to accomplish. Now pay attention. Heechul thinks we’ve left on a mission to find Dust, so for awhile, we’ll be in contact with him and I’ll still be able to send you intel. But when he realizes that we’ve left him, that intel is going to stop.”  
  
“Sad day,” Minho frowns, “You’ve been so helpful. And so clever.”  
  
“However,” Jaejoong says, “I’m pretty sure there is one other person on board the ship that’s a spy.” He had decided to say this after talking a little more with Hyunjoong. Until Heechul catches the actual spy, it really isn’t safe for Minho to think that Jaejoong is the only one. “So if you receive information that’s not from me, and seems genuine, then it may actually be. Keep that in mind.”  
  
“I will,” Minho nods.  
  
“When we get to Hangeng’s, and assuming he even lets us dock, he’s going to want to speak with us right away. Well. I would, if I were him. So we can get you a fighter, or if you have the means to get one on your own, then you can do that.”  
  
“I can get one on my own,” Minho says, “But—I was thinking. Do you have a place to stay?”  
  
“Well, no,” Jaejoong admits, “We were going to rely on Hangeng for that, as part of our negotiations.”  
  
“But,” Minho interjects, “You’d rather not be indebted to him over small things. I mean. I wouldn’t.”  
  
“I suppose not.”  
  
“I’ll tell you this,” Minho says, getting a little excited as he leans forward, “Because you’re obviously very trustworthy, but we’ve set up a little operation on Hangeng’s base.”  
  
An operation. Jaejoong crosses his legs, flexing his ankle as he frowns. “Who is we?”  
  
“Kyuhyun, Changmin, and I. Well, it was Yunho’s idea. And Ryeowook But we’ve all worked on it. Yunho wanted a way to get back Dust from the Runners, so he had the idea to set up a business and make it seem as though it was in distress so that the Runners would give them Dust at a super reduced cost. Obviously, we have enough Dust to run a business, so the plan is, whatever Dust we’re given comes back to the Scientists and can go towards other things.”  
  
Jaejoong doesn’t realize that he’s gaping until his mouth starts to get dry.  
  
“If you want, I can get you positions in the business. Part time. You can do whatever you need to do with Hangeng, and then help us on the side. You’ll at least have a place to stay,” Minho says, with a smile, “And I promise everyone working there is really nice.”  
  
Heechul gives Dust to people on Hangeng’s base regularly, despite their personal issues and the thought of all the Dust that Heechul steals going right back into Scientist’s hands really irritates Jaejoong. But it’s an absolutely brilliant idea, and a business is a perfect place for them to hide. The Scientists will know where they are, but they’ll be left alone for the most part so as not to raise suspicion, and Jaejoong will also be able to work with Hangeng on the Dust. And Heechul won’t find them, because if he ends up dealing with the fake business, it will be actual Scientists he sees and not anyone allied with Jaejoong.  
  
“I need to speak with the others about it,” Jaejoong starts carefully, “But that’s a fantastic plan and I like it. So tentatively, I accept.”  
  
They shake and Jaejoong stands. “Not that we need to confine you, but Jiyong hates people wandering around unnecessarily.”  _And I don’t want you finding all my Dust_.  
  
“I get it,” Minho assures him. “Spy or no, we’re not really on the same side. I’m fine here,” Minho says, waving an arm around the room, “I know where the bathroom is now, and where I can get food.”  
  
“We’re going to drop into a ‘Hole in a bit,” Jaejoong tells him. “I’ll come get you once we know we’re safe.”  
  
Jaejoong leaves Minho feeling much better about the whole situation.  _Have to find Jiyong,_  he thinks, and heads off towards the bridge.  
  
—  
  
Two fighters rise up out of the asteroid field to escort them into Hangeng’s hideout, and even then, Hangeng hails them before they’re allowed to approach.  
  
“Jaejoong,” Hangeng greets, head inclined in a bow, “Henry said you might show up.”  
  
“I want to talk with you.”  
  
“And I you. I’ve cleared a docking bay for your ship. I’ll meet you there.”  
  
The Dust in the viewer sputters, Hangeng’s face disappearing out of it as Jaejoong lets out a slow breath. So far so good, and he eases the ship around the carefully balanced building and stations while rotating easily around the asteroids, following the plan Hangeng’s fighters had sent them in order to avoid the traps set up in the gravity wells.  
  
“God, this is such a brilliant design,” Jiyong moans, “I would love to get my hands on the plans for this. I can’t even begin to comprehend how it’s all coordinated.”  
  
“I’m sure if we’re nice enough, and if we stick around long enough, you’ll get that chance.” Jaejoong says this around the tongue sticking out of his mouth.  
  
The docking bay is empty when they land, save for Hangeng, gun placed rather prominently on his hip with several heavily armed guards behind him. Jiyong gives all of them weapons, save Minho, and in a show of Who Has the Biggest Arsenal, they sweep down the ramp and spend a few seconds mentally sizing one another up before Jaejoong steps forward, hand extended.  
  
Hangeng doesn’t hesitate in taking it.


	8. Chapter 8

  
  
Minho ducks down an alleyway as soon as they’re away from the ship, bowing his head under Seunghyun’s icy stare. It’s obvious that no one really likes him being there, and spy or no, it makes Minho suspicious. But they did break him out, and until he has evidence to prove otherwise, Minho has no choice but to trust them. And if they stay with the fake business, it’ll give the Scientists ample time to figure exactly who Jaejoong is and what he wants.  
  
Minho brings up an address on a comm he had palmed from the ship, typing it in and following the directions it gives him. He thanks the Mental Kyuhyun in his head for making him memorize the address, and Minho tries really hard not to consider the possibly that he’s going crazy just as the comm beeps to inform him that he’s reached his destination.  
  
It’s a modest home, tucked snugly between a bakery and a consignment shop, a freshly painted blue sign declaring ORPHANAGE in white and gold letters. He goes for nonchalance as he walks up the steps, finger pressing against the button for the bell. There’s an agonizing few moments of waiting, which Minho spends biting off a hangnail, before he hears a gasp from the inside and the door bangs against the screen and then bounces off the brick wall. A hand yanks him across the threshold and Minho finds himself squeezed tight in Jinki’s arms.  
  
“ _You’re alive_ ,” Jinki breathes into Minho’s shoulder, already wet with tears.  
  
“Barely,” Minho hugs him back. “Where’s Ryeowook?”  
  
“Out with Sunyoung, trying to find us some sponsorship. Pretty women always help, much as I would prefer her to stay home. But come inside. We’ll make our introductions and when they get back you can tell us what happened.”  
  
There’s only a few kids, three boys and a girl, sitting at the table and eating. Jongwoon, whom Minho recognizes from the meeting with Yunho, is with them, cradling a baby in his arms that Jinki wastes no time taking from him. “This is Sora,” he says, eyes crinkling in happiness.  
  
“I’m happy for you, but I really need to talk to you.” he urges.  
  
“We’re fine here,” Jongwoon says, patting the other girl on the top of her head. “Right? You go ahead and talk.”  
  
Sora sighs in her sleep, Jinki adjusting the way he holds her and Minho follows him out, happy to note all the cameras and security equipment installed in the hallways. Though he’s not sure if that’s going to help them in their quest to convince Runners that they’re out of money and out of Dust.  
  
“When did this change from the idea of a business to one of an orphanage?” Minho asks, watching as Jinki coos at his daughter, letting her grip his pinky in her sleep.  
  
“When Sunyoung got involved. The last one here Hangeng had closed down, and there are many businesses already. Ryeowook figures we have a much better chance of getting help if we’re in the minority. And since the Runners are working together now it doesn’t make any difference.”  
  
A wise decision.  
  
“So what happened?” Jinki asks, “I thought you were…captured. Did you escape?”  
  
Minho fills him in on Jaejoong and his band of questionable spies, Jinki’s face darkening with every word. “I wish you could have taken Zhou Mi.”  
  
“Me too, but we wouldn’t have made it out with him. He’s still injured, and even if he hadn’t been, he apparently has some sort of genius plan and doesn’t want to be rescued.”  
  
“Kyuhyun isn’t going to like that,” Jinki muses, lips flatting into a thin line.  
  
“No,” Minho shakes his head. “But. He will want to talk with Jaejoong.”  
  
“I think it’s a brilliant move to have them stay here,” Jinki nods, “Especially since you’re not sure if they really are spies or not. We’ll be able to keep an eye on them.”  
  
“And one of them has a daughter, so they definitely won’t try anything with all the kids here.”  
  
“You’re kind of brilliant. Isn’t he?” Jinki asks the sleeping child, and she makes a sound that has Jinki making silly faces at her, even though she cannot see them.  
  
Minho can only sigh.  
  
—  
  
The terms of their pact do not come easy.  
  
Jaejoong and Hangeng argue for three hours, laying out each specific agreement, Jaejoong being extra careful to allow no room for Hangeng to betray them. He seems to find that amusing, even offering to sign in blood, because Jaejoong’s Dust is what interests him, not the petty squabbles of Scientist and Runner and former Runner, or whatever it is that Jaejoong now considers himself to be.  
  
Housing is left of out of their deal, the price of docking at a bay, and Hangeng’s silence balancing out access to a lab and Hangeng’s Dust, as well as Hangeng’s people. They both want to make Dust, and that at least assures Jaejoong that until they accomplish this, there will be no double crossing.  
  
“I still don’t like it,” Seunghyun grumbles on the way back to the  _Arach_ , though he’s careful to keep his voice low, “He’s capable of stabbing us in the back at any second.”  
  
“He is,” Jaejoong agrees, “But he won’t. Not until he gets his Dust.”  
  
“Which makes it all better,” Seunghyun continues without missing a beat, his nose scrunching up in disgust.  
  
It’s hard to ignore the sarcasm, but Jaejoong does, looping an arm around Jiyong’s waist, “I don’t know how you live with him.” They laugh, tension forgotten until they get back to the ship and find Yoobin perched on Minho’s knee as he plays cards with Daesung.  
  
“She vicious at this game,” he says.  
  
Yoochun grins, pleased, and pats his daughter on top of her head. “Come with me for a little bit,” he lifts her off Minho’s lap, Jaejoong unable to keep the smile off his face as she tells Yoochun about all the cards she played and how she’s sure Daesung cheats.  
  
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Yoochun agrees. Daesung pretends to be offended and follows them out, eyes sparkling when Yoobin looks away.  
  
“My friends are running an orphanage,” Minho says, when Jaejoong sits across from him, “And there’s room for all of you there, if you want. They only have four kids, but Jinki says he expects a lot more to come, and he wants to go find kids living on the streets. There’s even one Yoobin’s age, so she’ll be able to have a friend.”  
  
 _Children_ , Jaejoong thinks. He knows no one will mind, and it’s a safe environment. If the Scientists are indeed running an orphanage, then they won’t want to start anything in front of the kids, at least theoretically. “I’ll meet with them,” He says. “Jiyong and I will go.”  
  
—  
  
Sungmin would never betray Heechul. Heechul cares about him when no one else does, gives him a job when all he does is bother people (kiss them,) and perhaps most importantly, listens to him. So when Sungmin is a bit overwhelmed by Zhou Mi’s sudden offer to defect, Heechul is the first person Sungmin tells.  
  
Perhaps predictably, it only makes Heechul laughs.  
  
“And finally I get a peak into what happened between you two on Mars. Care to fill in the blanks?”  
  
Sungmin does, Heechul scoffing a bit at Hyunjoong’s involvement, and promising to lecture them upon their return from hunting down Minho. It makes Sungmin feel marginally better. “So what are you going to tell him?  _I love you but I just can’t leave!_. Are you going to break his fragile heart? You should do it after he’s better, that way it’ll be less awkward and I can assign someone else to feed him.”  
  
“He should just stay in the medical wing for now. He’ll heal faster.”  
  
“But he’s not safe there,” Heechul points out, “The brig has better security.”  
  
“His condition will worsen in the brig,” Sungmin says, “So unless you have somewhere to keep him—“  
  
“We could just move him into your quarters.” The twinkle in Heechul’s eye first makes Sungmin think the captain is kidding, but it occurs to him a second later that Heechul’s serious and the sparkle is nothing but a physical manifestation of his amusement at the whole situation.  
  
“I don’t find that funny.”  
  
“I’m being entirely serious. You’re the only one with codes to your quarters, Sungmin. I’ll post a guard and cameras outside and you can keep an eye on him inside!”  
  
When he’s there. Alone. With Zhou Mi, who had admitted to liking him and would very much like to whisk him away and fix all of Sungmin’s problems. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sungmin whispers, looking down at the floor.  
  
“It’s brilliant,” Heechul assures him, “You’re the last person to betray me, Sungmin, which makes you the perfect person to guard him. Even Geunsuk would leave me before you. Also, you’re blushing. That is answer enough for me.”  
  
Sungmin’s hands fly to face before he can stop them, and Heechul laughs. “We’ll move him together, and you can explain to him why you aren’t going to leave me. And maybe why he should leave Yunho and stay here with you. That would be spectacular.”  
  
—  
  
The orphanage is warm, two of the boys already attached to Jaejoong after ten minutes of being there and he smiles in acceptance when Minho raises a questioning eyebrow at him. There’s more than enough rooms for Jiyong and the crew, and more than enough work that needed to be done to keep them busy when they weren’t experimenting with Dust. It’s a perfect cover.  
  
Yoochun is ecstatic at the sight of other kids, and Yoobin, when she arrives perched on Daesung’s shoulder, is almost immediately accepted into the pack of children and dragged off to play.  
  
“I think he only came with us for all the extra baby sitters,” Jiyong whispers to Jaejoong. It’s entirely possible, Jaejoong thinks, noting the way Yoochun’s near tears, grin splitting his face in half.  
  
“Let’s get everything moved in and then we’ll head over to Hangeng’s.”  
  
They had agreed earlier that no Dust would be kept at the orphanage for any Scientists who might be able to stumble upon it. So they decide to keep most of it on the ship until they find a decent hiding place, and keep the ship under a rigorous locking mechanism Taemin had developed that no one—not even Jiyong—has figured out how to break, short of blowing a hole through a hull.  
  
It doesn’t take them long, and Jiyong takes Hyunjoong and Yoochun out with him afterwards to do a little shopping for ship repairs. Jaejoong would have gone with them, but Minho stops him before he can tag along.  
  
“I have to head out and report to Kyuhyun,” Minho says. “Will you be alright?”  
  
“We’ll be fine,” Jaejoong assures him. “Yoobin’s already made friends and is bossing them around. It’s an excellent sign.”  
  
“Great.” He hands Jaejoong a datapad. “My personal frequency is in here, and in case it’s an emergency, Kyuhyun’s and Changmin’s, as well as the one for the ship. I’ve included a few codes to get into military space ports, but they’re emergency ones, so unless you have a fleet of ships after you, don’t use it. I’ll get into lots of trouble.”  
  
“Of course,” Jaejoong promises.  
  
“Thank you for getting me out. I still owe you.”  
  
They shake, Minho shutting the door behind him firmly and Jaejoong letting out an uneasy breath. This, he knows, was the easy part.  
  
He opens his comm. “Seunghyun? Let’s get some of the Dust to Hangeng’s facility. The sooner we start on this the better.”  
  
—  
  
It’s quite possibly a trap. Boa half expects to be mauled coming out of the Scientist ship but all that greets them is a welcoming party. She’s even allowed to keep her gun, which makes her feel much safer, even with the Scientist leader at her side. Kangin and Jungsu, two of Yunho’s men stay aboard to deal with the Dust they had brought with them. Boa knows of them only as Yunho’s go-to patch-uppers, and despite the rumors of both of them being ruthless, she had found them to be quite kind and taken an immediate liking to them. She hopes they never meet in a skirmish, because she’d hate to have to shoot either of them.  
  
She’s sure Hangeng recognizes her from the last time they had talked, but as someone that also plays both sides, all she receives when Yunho introduces her is a smile; one that has Boa realizing she’s going to owe Hangeng an explanation later when she’s by herself. A price she’s willing to pay if it means getting an inside look at what Yunho’s been meticulously planning for the past couple weeks.  
  
Not that she expects him to actually tell her, but she could do a little investigating while she’s here, and hopefully find something out.  
  
Hangeng gives them a map of his hideout (Space Station, he calls it, but Boa knows better,) and codes to get in wherever they’d like along with a few suggestions on restaurants, places with views, and a room in one of his better hotels. Walking along the streets, a glass sky blurring the stars above them in a simulated night, Boa can almost forget they’re hanging vulnerably in space.  
  
“What do you want to do?” Yunho asks her, “I have a few hours until my meeting.”  
  
“Hotel,” Boa suggests.  _And everything that implies_.  
  
Yunho’s lips quirk a bit, and Boa loops an arm through his, pleased. “After,” Yunho murmurs, “You can come with me, if you want. To the meeting.”  
  
Maybe that’s where she’ll be apprehended. Betrayed by the love of her life, cuffed roughly, hauled away, with no one to save her. “That’d be nice,” she says, and even though she is thinking about torture and death, that it has to do with Yunho does indeed make it all better.  
  
The hotel is cozy, with every amenity imaginable, and they make good use of the bed and couch and shower before Yunho announces that it’s time to go, not even swayed by Boa’s pouting. It’s entirely unfair, as Yunho’s pout can make Boa do anything he wants.  
  
“So where are we going?” Boa asks.  
  
“An orphanage,” Yunho tells her, linking their fingers together.  
  
“Funny place for a meeting.”  
  
“It’s the only business on this space station that I run,” Yunho says, “So it’s safe.”  
  
It’s not exactly an answer, but she takes it, hugging his arm a little closer. It’s nice to walk with him, and the pristine streets and sidewalks make it even easier. She’s about to open her mouth and say this, when she catches sight of a familiar face.  
  
Seunghyun is walking towards them. Boa chances a glance at Yunho but he’s looking up at the synthetic sky as they walk, and her crew mate seems oblivious to her as of yet.  _He cannot see me here, or Yunho see him_. It’s a cataclysmic disaster in the making, and Boa makes a quick decision, grabbing Yunho by his lapels and slamming him up against a brick wall. Yunho makes a noise of protest against her lips, but it only takes a second before he’s kissing her back. She counts backwards in her head, roughly calculating how long it will take for Seunghyun to pass her by before pulling away. Reluctantly, she admits, because she could have Yunho’s hands on her all day long and not mind in the least.  
  
Yunho keeps their foreheads pressed together for a moment, as they breathe.  
  
“Spontaneity,” Boa explains, before Yunho can ask, “Hope you don’t mind.”  
  
“Never.” He kisses her again, once, before they start to walk again, Seunghyun no where to be seen.  
  
She’s going to have to call him, find out why he’s here when Heechul has sworn off contact with Hangeng until he’s done being mad at him. Hopefully nothing is wrong.  
  
The orphanage practically glows from its place on the street, and if Boa had a child to give them, she would have no qualms doing so, just going by the outside design. Kangin and Jungsu are already there, and Boa catches sight of the Dust containers they had on board being carried into the house.  
  
“Minho just left,” Jungsu tells them, “But Jinki’s out back.”  
  
“Feel like watching some kids?” Yunho asks her.  
  
Why the hell not? Kids sometimes talk about things behind the adults back, they might know something useful. Jungsu ushers her into a room where a bunch of kids are playing with toys before backing out.  _So much for an introduction_ , Boa thinks sourly, but shrugs mentally and does a head count. Three boys, playing with small models of Scientists ships, and two girls, bent over a piece of paper with their hands in paint and—  
  
 _Yoobin_. One of the girls looks like Yoobin.  _Is_ , Yoobin. Boa heads over to her first, jaw slack, because she had just seen Seunghyun, and now Yoobin, which means that Yoochun is probably here, and if Yoochun is here, then so is Jaejoong and probably Hyunjoong. And Jiyong is never far from any of them.  
  
“Yoobin?” Boa asks, and as the girl looks up at her, a smile widening across her face in recognition, Boa’s stomach sinks.  
  
“Boa!” She says, perhaps a little loudly, “Did you leave Heechul, too?”  
  
—  
  
It doesn’t take long for Hangeng’s Scientists to break down the exact make up of Jaejoong’s Dust. In fact, it only takes them about an hour.  
  
Jay, Hangeng’s lead Scientist, and according to Yoochun a former friend of Heechul, sits Jaejoong and Seunghyun down at a table with a data pad full of information.  
  
“Quite simply,” he starts, “It is incredible. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to reproduce it. Yet. However, there is one thing that’s very promising.” He folds his hands. “I’ve seen a lot of compounds, natural or otherwise. I know everything about everything, can break down any substance into its smaller components and give each one a name. Its  _correct_  name. But that,” he jerks a thumb over his back towards his lab, “That is something else. It’s actually a little embarrassing, but there’s one element or compound or  _something_  in that Dust that I do not recognize.”  
  
“An unknown component?” Jaejoong presses.  
  
Jay nods. “Exactly. I believe,” he leans in closer, “In fact I’m about ninety eight percent positive that the element is in fact man made.”  
  
“Man—“ Jaejoong starts, but doesn’t continue, his mouth suddenly dry.  
  
“How positive is ninety eight percent?” Seunghyun asks. “Why not one hundred?”  
  
“I know man made when I see it, but as I know nothing about this element, I have to be careful. I’ve never been so hopeful about my Dust project than right at this moment. I may not know much just yet, but I will without a doubt figure this out.” He slides the data pad over to them. “This is all the information, in case you have any scientifically savvy people in your team. Any information on that Dust that you can give me would be incredibly helpful.”  
  
“I don’t have any on me,” Jaejoong frowns, “But I can go somewhere that does.”  
  
 _My ship_ , he thinks,  _floating in the middle of all that Dust with its unreadable codes and figures._  A glance at Seunghyun’s face tells him he’s thinking the exact same thing.  
  
They’re unable to say anything else as Seunghyun’s comm goes off. But they don’t need to; Jay says goodbye to both of them, and Seunghyun flips open his comm, the screen fizzling with Dust as it makes a connection.  
  
“Boa,” Seunghyun greets, readying a smile.  
  
But she doesn’t look happy.  
  
“Choi Seunghyun,” Boa breathes, voice hoarse with anger, “What the hell have you been doing?”

 

\--

 

  
  
Heechul had hoped it wouldn’t happen again, but he supposes he should have been prepared for it. And of course, it happens when he has hardly any Dusters to defend himself. It’s planned, precise, and it’s why Kyuhyun wins. With the Runners’ shields down, Kyuhyun ‘Ports a store of Heechul’s Dust off his ship, and is gone, before Heechul’s very surprised gunners can manage to shoot back at them.  
  
And it’s all the fault of that God. Damn. Spy. Heechul knows it, and without waiting for his brain Duster, decides it’s time for rigorous search that will not end until the spy is splayed out in front of Heechul and ready to pay for his crimes. Preferably with lots of pain.  
  
For awhile he had suspected that Zhou Mi was not as ill as he had been pretending and was secretly sending out information. However, Sungmin assures Heechul that not only is Zhou Mi still unfit for anything but laying in bed, Sungmin has deactivated all communications in his room save for one comm that is programmed to only call either Sungmin or the bridge.  
  
Sungmin is a smart mother fucker when he wants to be, not to mention usually correct, and so Heechul knows his leak has to be someone else.  
  
“Hongki,” Geunsuk tips off on his finger, “Junhyung? Junsu. He’s kind of strange.”  
  
“Seungri, maybe,” Heechul muses, “Or Boa’s pilot. What’s-her-name.”  
  
“Amber,” Geunsuk supplies, “She’s sort of attached herself to Donghae’s fighters, though, and he wouldn’t pick anyone he didn’t trust.”  
  
And Heechul trusts Donghae like he trusts Geunsuk, and so therefore Amber is not their leak. “What about her brother?”  
  
“Jonghyun?” Geunsuk muses. “It’s possible. He leaves a lot to go visit those orphanages; they could be fake, or connected to the Scientists.”  
  
“No,” Heechul shakes his head, “Boa told me he and Amber both grew up in an orphanage on Earth, and that’s definitely where he goes in his spare time. Plus, I don’t think he could pull that off. I’ve seen his communication skills—we’d pick up anything he’d try to send off here.”  
  
“Honestly, I don’t think we can afford to dismiss anyone,” Geunsuk frowns, “We should probably even suspect one another.”  
  
Heechul doesn’t have it in him to laugh. “We need a trap.”  
  
The only way is to feed incorrect information to someone, but with such a large scope of people under suspicion, it’s not something easily designed.  
  
“We need another mind,” Geunsuk grumbles, “Sungmin. Jungmo.”  
  
Really, the only other two people Heechul can say for sure are not the spy. “As long as they’re in separate rooms,” Heechul agrees. “Once we recoup this loss, we’re having a meeting.”  
  
They’re interrupted as Heechul’s comm beeps and after a moment of scrabbling for it, Heechul flicks it open.  
  
“Boa.” They’ve become good friends since the demise of the  _Valenti_ , even though Boa spends most of her time out scouting potential allies and scoring containers of Dust for profit. Heechul can respect someone who does all that work by themselves.  
  
“Heechul-ah,” she says, and she sounds as though she’s recovering from running a marathon. “We have a huge problem.”  
  
—  
  
Jinki makes the best coffee. Kangin’s not sure why that is, or even if it’s actually coffee (he wouldn’t put it past Jinki to create something that tastes like coffee but isn’t,) but Kangin doesn’t really care. Were he female and not in love with Jungsu (and were Jinki not in love with Sunyoung,) Kangin would marry him. In a second.  
  
He shifts in his chair, enjoying another sip of coffee, before he hears the front door open and a few people shuffle inside. He doesn’t get up, intent on enjoying his moment of peace, but as he listens in on the conversation, he realizes that his moment is fast slipping away.  
  
He knows that voice.  
  
The woman Yunho had brought in with him has long since left, Yunho with her, but she had seemed familiar to him. He hadn’t been able to place it until just now, as he hears a voice he knows all too well coming from the hallway. A voice that had threatened him several times over Dust waves with two ships and a vacuum of space between them. A voice that had been occasionally accompanied by Yunho’s lady friend.  
  
It takes a moment for the name to surface, but when it does, Kangin has to put down his coffee cup for fear of spilling it. Jiyong. Kwon Jiyong. The genius Runner captain that designs ships for fun and likes to blow things up. Scientist things, in particular. Ships, especially.  
  
Kangin frowns, getting up with care so that the chair doesn’t scrape the ground as he moves around the table. He stands next to the door, listening intently (wishing he had an ear Dusting ability, because wouldn’t that be swell right about now?) and trying to keep his brain from coming up with reasons as to why the hell Kwon Jiyong would be  _here_.  
  
“Seunghyun says Boa called him. She apparently knows we’re here. What are the odds of her calling Heechul?”  
  
“I’d say pretty good, especially if she was feeling betrayed.”  
  
Kangin’s not sure about the other voice. He can’t quite place it, though it too sounds familiar.  
  
“So the odds of Heechul now knowing that his brain Duster is hiding out with Hangeng is pretty positive?”  
  
“If he doesn’t already know, he will soon. We should have been more careful.”  
  
“We should find out why Boa was even here in the first place.”  
  
The voices trail off as they trudge up the stairs, Kangin hearing the one he doesn’t know calling for one of the kids playing upstairs. But he pays it no mind, totally preoccupied with two words: brain Duster. The brain Duster is here, in this cleverly hidden hideout, possibly in the group that had rescued Minho.  
  
It’s an exciting prospect, assuming this Duster is actually now on the Scientist’s side. Unless Kangin had misinterpreted what he had heard, which he acknowledges is a possibility. One can never be too sure, and since they are not on Scientist turf, he must react to this calmly and without room for error. Or embarrassment.  
  
He leaves the orphanage, now acquainted with how well voices travel in the house, and waits until he’s half way down the street before calling Jungsu, using their super secretive line that demands an immediate answer.  
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
“Nothing yet,” Kangin is quick to assure his partner, “But I’ve just made the most amazing discovery. Is Yunho with you?”  
  
“I’m here,” the Scientist’s voice comes through the comm clearly despite the noise of the street.  
  
“I learned something about that brain Duster. But it needs to be said in private.”  
  
“Do I need to panic?”  
  
“No,” Kangin says, finally having difficulty being the grin off his face, “But you may want to reserve yourself a bottle of champagne. I’ll be there shortly.”  
  
Yunho’s Ship is larger than Kyuhyun’s battleship, but deceptively sleek looking, and while able to dock at Hangeng’s with ease, no other ship is as large and so towers over everything else and looks appropriately badass. Kangin can’t help but grin at it for a moment and soak in its prowess.  
  
His clearance gets him inside with ease, and it’s not even minutes before he’s standing in front of Yunho, grin now full fledged and  _shit-eating_.  
  
“What is going on?” Jungsu asks him.  
  
It’s a bit harsh, but Kangin overlooks it; they’ve all been on edge, and his news is going to help fix that. He tells them about the conversation he overheard and the resulting speculation that one of the people in Minho’s group is the brain Duster.  
  
“I can’t imagine they’d leave Heechul,” Yunho says, leaning back thoughtfully in his chair, “At least not completely. I wouldn’t put it past Heechul to orchestrate something like this to catch us off guard.”  
  
“I don’t think Heechul would willingly send away his most powerful Dusters, though,” Kangin points out. “If anyone were to do that, I would have to say it was Boa’s idea. Which reminds me.” He raises an eyebrow at Yunho, daring him to continue that train of thought himself.  
  
“What?” Yunho asks innocently.  
  
“I knew I recognized her voice,” Kangin says, “But I couldn’t remember her face until earlier. Why are you escorting around a Runner leader, Yunho?”  
  
“Who I escort is none of your business,” Yunho retorts, “Regardless of who it might be. You are not the only person that can sneak around and gain some intelligence.”  
  
“Yunho,” Jungsu starts, disapproving voice turned on to the highest degree.  
  
“Trust me when I say it will bear its fruit in time.”  
  
“That time might be now.”  
  
“No,” Yunho shakes his head. “Kangin, you worry about the jobs I give you, not about the ones I give myself.”  
  
“They have Zhou Mi.”  
  
“Who is,” Yunho sits up a bit straighter and Kangin knows his control on the discussion is slipping away rapidly, “according to Minho, unable to move at the moment, so any rescue attempt is both silly and stupid. Also, he apparently has a plan of his own, and I always like his plans, so for now, he stays where he is.”  
  
“Everyone and their plans,” Kangin pouts, and finally sits, chin digging into the palm of his hand.  
  
“We need to confirm this,” Jungsu pulls out his comm, keying in a sequence. A moment later, Jinki’s head pops up, Dust swirling into his features. “How many people did Minho bring with him?”  
  
“Six,” Jinki says immediately, “Why?”  
  
“We’re pretty sure one of them is a brain Duster. Where are they all now?”  
  
Jinki’s mouth drops open. “A few are at the orphanage, but I don’t know what they do or where they go when they’re not here. Minho did tell me they were trying to make a deal with Hangeng over something, though.”  
  
“That’s enough to go on,” Yunho says, “Poke around for me, will you? Without getting caught.”  
  
“Of course,” Jinki promises. “I’ll let you know what I find.”  
  
There’s a sound of more keys being punched before Jungsu ends his own call, and within moments, Hangeng’s face is hovering over Yunho’s hand.  
  
“Yunho,” he greets, “What can I do for you? I heard your orphanage has settled in rather well.”  
  
“It has,” Yunho nods.  
  
“Is there a problem?” Hangeng asks, clearly curious about the call and not wanting to exchange pleasantries for too long.  
  
“No,” Yunho shakes his head, “I was actually calling about the group that Minho brought back with him from the Runners. The spies.”  
  
“They’re spies?” It’s clearly feigned surprise. “Ha, Heechul will be in a fit when we finds out. I’ll have to call and gloat.”  
  
“What can you tell me about them?”  
  
“Nothing,” Hangeng says immediately.  
  
“What can I pay you to tell me about them?”  
  
Kangin expects Hangeng to change tunes (as he usually does, when money or Dust is involved,) but to everyone’s surprise, he doesn’t.  
  
“Nothing. And it’s best you forget about them. If they really are spies, and they haven’t told you why they’re here, then I certainly won’t.”  
  
“They can’t possibly have anyone, or anything that I cannot double.”  _Besides a brain Duster_ , Kangin thinks, and hopes Hangeng doesn’t know that.  
  
“That’s not for me to divulge. But they aren’t here to harm you nor cause your government any harm. I am neutral for a reason, and if you have a quarrel with them, then you need to wait until you’re out of my space station to deal with it.”  
  
“Hangeng, leader to leader—”  
  
“My answer is no,” Hangeng says, “And now you’ve pissed me off. Get out of my station, Jung, and if it’s not within the next twenty-four hours I will shut down your orphanage.”  
  
There’s silence for a moment, as the Dust whirls back into Yunho’s comm going silent, and the three of them digest what they had just heard.  
  
“He knows,” Jungsu finally says.  
  
“Maybe,” Yunho allows, “Maybe not.”  
  
“It might just be that Hankyung’s a dick,” Kangin offers. Neither of the other two men laugh.  
  
“If they really did leave Heechul, I can’t imagine them telling Hankyung that one of them is a brain Duster. They are both bullheaded and fierce when it comes to protecting things they think are theirs, and I know how frustrating it can be for a powerful Duster to not only feel limited, but caged and not allowed to use the skills unless so dictated.”  
  
“Good thing you didn’t say anything about a brain Duster, then,” Jungsu whistles.  
  
“Yeah,” Yunho breathes, leaning back into his chair, “Good thing. We’ve got twenty four hours to come up with a plan.”  
  
Figure out who the brain Duster is, nab him, and maybe any Dust they’re hiding, and get off before Hangeng blows them to bits. A tall order, but, Kangin knows, this is Jung Yunho planning, and with a little luck, they might be able to pull it off.  
  
—  
  
They settle for the occasional kiss.  
  
It’s a little awkward, what with them being on different sides and Sungmin informing Zhou Mi he has no intentions of leaving Heechul, and Zhou Mi not giving up and trying to convince him anyway, but it’s nice. It’s nice to just have a few moments where it doesn’t matter who they are.  
  
“Mi,” Sungmin murmurs, “I sort of want to sabotage your body so you can just stay here.”  
  
He doesn’t need to see Zhou Mi to picture the face that’s pulled. “Brigs are nasty things. Feel free to accidentally break my leg.”  
  
Sungmin reaches down to pet it, only able to brush Zhou Mi’s thigh as he doesn’t want to lift his face from Zhou Mi’s neck to get a better angle. “Your legs are too nice to break. Maybe I can dislocate a hip, though.” Sungmin drags his hand up slowly, thumbing a hipbone pressing up against a sliver of skin.  
  
“Lee Sungmin,” Zhou Mi says carefully, having stiffened ever so slightly.  
  
Sungmin laughs, moving his arm to a not-so-dangerous location (Zhou Mi’s waist) and sighing. “Maybe I’ll just fake my records. Pretend you’re worse off than you are.”  
  
“I like that idea more,” Zhou Mi agrees, “I’ve had enough pain and injury to last a life time, thank you.”  
  
“I’m a good doctor,” Sungmin pouts, “I’ve given you lots of drugs to deal with that.”  
  
“And such nice drugs they are,” Zhou Mi says, right into Sungmin’s ear and it makes him twitch.  
  
“Don’t,” Sungmin pleads, “That makes me want to do things with you that you are not well enough to handle.”  
  
“You started it,” Zhou Mi grumbles, but lets his head rest back against his pillow. “Will Heechul really move me back?”  
  
“What would you do?” Sungmin asks. A brig is the least dangerous place for a Scientist leader who has admitted to being able to repress Dust repressing drugs with Dust (it had taken Sungmin awhile to believe that one,) and who has openly expressed his fervent desire to whisk Sungmin away in the sunset. Metaphorically.  
  
“Maybe you should break my leg.”  
  
“Honestly, I don’t think I could. Not after all that work I did to get your better. Don’t worry, though—Heechul’s thoroughly amused that you’re in my room now and not the medical bay, and so even if you get better you won’t move for awhile.”  
  
“You told him about what happened?”  
  
“He’s captain,” Sungmin pointed out, flicking his fingers against Zhou Mi’s collarbone, “And he’s my friend. We had this conversation, remember? I will not betray him.”  
  
He’s saved from hearing a response when the door beeps and it opens a bit to reveal Seungri’s head, grinning when he sees them on the bed and not waiting for permission to come inside. The door slides shut behind him, locking automatically.  
  
Sungmin hears Zhou Mi inhale sharply against his ear and the comm officer frowns. “What do you want?”  
  
“To meet the Scientist, of course. Everyone else has.”  
  
“Not everyone else,” Sungmin’s frown deepens, “And if you don’t have anything important to say then you can leave.”  
  
Seungri pouts, “No one loves me. I just want to  _be helpful_.”  
  
“You’re not authorized to be in here. The guard outside should not have let you pass.”  
  
“Fine,” Seungri grumbles, “Fine.” He raises his gaze a bit—meeting Zhou Mi’s, Sungmin’s sure of it—and smiles, “We’ll have to officially meet another time, then.”  
  
“Get,” Sungmin points at the door, “Or I comm Heechul.”  
  
Seungri shrugs, bowing on his way out, and it’s not until the lock clicks that Zhou Mi releases a long breath. He’s shaking. The bed squeaks a bit as Sungmin turns, frowning in concern as Zhou Mi’s knuckles go white. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“That was him.”  
  
“Who?” Sungmin asks, though he’s already standing up, reaching out for his shirt.  
  
“The one who attacked me. He’s a Duster. A really powerful Duster and really good at hiding it.”  
  
“Are you sure it’s him?”  
  
“Positive. I’d recognize the feel of him anywhere.”  
  
“Okay.” Sungmin fishes for his comm, using the emergency channel to comm Heechul.  
  
“Sungmin,” Heechul greets him immediately, “I was just about to call you. We found out—wait. This is the emergency line, what’s wrong?”  
  
“We found him. The person that attacked Zhou Mi. It’s Seungri.”  
  
“Fucking ship is full of traitors,” Heechul mutters, “Okay. Get your ass up here. We got a whole host of problems to sort out.”  
  
“He didn’t even ask if you were sure.” Zhou Mi frowns, after Sungmin hangs up.  
  
“It’s Heechul,” Sungmin shrugs one shoulder. “We have a history.”  
  
“What sort of history?”  
  
“The sort where we trust one another implicitly.” How many times is he going to have to say it? Granted, it hasn’t always been that way but saving each other’s lives a few times and Heechul always sticking up for Sungmin and Sungmin always finding ways to help Heechul in return has built them a solid friendship, and therefore, trust.  
  
“I’ll be back…eventually.”  
  
Sungmin makes doubly sure the door is locked as he leaves, dictating strict instructions that no one, under any sort of circumstance, is allowed inside save himself or Heechul. “Not even if someone holds a gun to your head,” Sungmin hisses, and he’s saluted.  
  
Half way up to the bridge, Sungmin runs into Heechul’s head of security, and marveling at his luck, tells him to fetch Seungri from wherever he is and bring him to Heechul’s quarters for questioning, preferably full of Duster drugs and hand cuffed. The officer knows better than to argue.  
  
“What’s wrong with you?” Sungmin asks, before the door to Heechul’s quarters has even shut behind him. Heechul is practically spitting fire, eyes alight and angry, his whole posture suggesting something much more troubling than a spy on the loose.  
  
“Jaejoong and his goddamn posse have jumped ship.”  
  
 _Jumped ship_. Sungmin frowns, digesting this. “They left?”  
  
“With Hyunjoong. With  _my_  brain Duster. Boa just called me to say she saw them at Hankyung’s, briefly, and Seunghyun told her they had a whole list of—“ Heechul’s face goes sour “— _things_  they needed to do and when they were done with them, they’d come back.”  
  
“Things?” Sungmin asks.  
  
“They can wait if you’ve found the spy.”  
  
“We don’t know if he’s the spy, though. That’s speculation, and not very good speculation, because why would a Scientist spy want to hurt a Scientist?”  
  
“I guess we’ll find out.”  
  
It doesn’t take long for the guard to comm with news, and Sungmin’s happy bubble at perhaps having caught someone heinous pops as soon as he sees the man’s face. Apprehension of Seungri had clearly not gone so well.  
  
“Couldn’t get the drugs into him, or the cuffs on him, or really get near him at all,” the guard said, “Two of my men are completely incapacitated and he’s broken my wrist. And it goddamn hurts. Captain.”  
  
“Where’s he headed?”  
  
“Hangar bay. Donghae’s there now with Henry. I’ve alerted them.”  
  
“Get yourself to the med bay,” Sungmin instructs, “I’ll be there soon to tape you up.”  
  
Heechul’s already barreling out the door, screaming into his comm for Geunsuk to meet them in the hangar and to shoot Seungri on sight, though he if could please not kill him, that would be nice. Heechul has a lot of questions.  
  
And so does Sungmin. Though he wouldn’t at all mind if Geunsuk caused the rat a bit of pain. In fact, Sungmin might actually enjoy it; Seungri had certainly done a number on Zhou Mi.  
  
“And without my Dusters,” Heechul suddenly hisses, “Traitors. Lame excuses for friends. This is such shitty timing.”  
  
For them, anyway. Clearly, this is all very nice for Seungri.  
  
When they get to the hangar bay, there’s a moment in which Sungmin thinks they’ve beaten him there, but then a blast of wind knocks him sideways and two fighters rise into the air, (Donghae’s is one, and Sungmin can see Seungri in the other,) guns pointed at each other and all hope of capturing him dies.  
  
Even so, Heechul looks ready for a fight.  
  
“Lee Seunghyun!” He screeches, and Seungri smirks at him through the Dust coated glass of his cockpit.  
  
“Heechul-ah,” he says, making Heechul spit in his fury, “It’s been fun.”  
  
“Get down here you fucker!” Heechul screamed.  
  
“No,” Seungri shakes his head, “It’s not safe here for me anymore.”  
  
“You’re the spy, aren’t you? You little shit. The hell did you hurt Zhou Mi for?”  
  
Seungri grins at them. “I wanted to take Zhou Mi but he doesn’t heal as fast as I thought he would. I was only going to maim him a bit so he wouldn’t leave with Minho, but I underestimated myself. So now I’m just going to leave and he’s going to have to find his own way off this boat.”  
  
“Seunghyun!” Heechul bellowed, and Sungmin has never, ever heard Heechul be that loud or that upset. It’s intimidating and Sungmin has to give Seungri points for only flinching. Sungmin decides that Donghae and Henry are going to have to solve this little problem.  
  
“Come on,” Sungmin latches onto Heechul’s arm, “Let Donghae track him. We’ll get him when we have our Dusters back.”  
  
Sungmin has to drag Heechul a little bit before he comes willingly, and they lock themselves safely behind doors as both fighters glide into the launching bay Donghae nosing Seungri’s fighter dangerously before it depressurizes and they shoot into space.  
  
“Henry!” Heechul screeches, and he’s very near losing his voice from the force of it, “Henry, follow him. No killing. Send me his location when you have it!”  
  
Henry salutes, and in the blink of an eyes the  _Cadenza’s_  up and out.  
  
“Fuck,” Heechul is swearing, as they tumble back up to the bridge, “Asshole. Bastard. I’m going to  _run him through_  and toss him into space.”  
  
The image of Seungri completely battered and broken is a nice one. A vengeful one. And Sungmin uses that as a way to spur himself into finishing the repairs on their ship. The faster they’re back in space the better.


	9. Chapter 9

Jinki might be Yunho’s new favorite person ever. He had discreetly stolen a communicator from one of Minho’s rescuers and discovered calls made to Heechul (though not recently,) which in itself isn’t big news, but there had been several messages on them (left very recently) demanding their return with the brain Duster.  
  
Yunho wants to cry, he’s so happy. All that’s left is to figure out which one of them  _is_  the brain Duster. He had put in a call to Kyuhyun and Siwon, asking them to both hover over Hangeng’s base until they catch the Duster, though to be discreet, as Yunho had been asked to leave. For all intents and purposes, he is making it look as though that’s exactly what he’s doing, recalling his crew, loading Ship with his purchases and refueling. No one is bothering them to hurry, so he figures he still has some time before Hangeng starts to wave weapons in his direction.  
  
A beep from his comm interrupts his thought.  
  
“Yunho,” Siwon greets him, “Kyuhyun’s here. He says he picked up a lone fighter circling the base claiming to be a spy with information on Heechul. You want to talk to him?”  
  
 _Yes, please_ , Yunho thinks, interest piqued.  
  
Five minutes into the discussion, Yunho decides that Seungri’s one of the most infuriating people ever; but Yunho likes him, even so. He thinks they’ll be great friends after all this is over, especially since the man had just put a name on the brain Duster.  
  
Kim Hyunjoong.  
  
He instructs Kyuhyun to debrief Seungri and get as much information out of him as possible while keeping an eye out for anyone fleeing the compound. “Feed him and get him a room,” Yunho says, “I’ll talk with him once I’ve mopped this mess up and gotten that Duster.”  
  
Kyuhyun looks elated at the prospect and Yunho can’t blame him. A spy and a brain Duster all in one day? The war is near its end, Yunho’s sure of it.  
  
He calls his guard when they hang up. “Youngbae, meet me outside. We’ve got a brain Duster to catch.”  
  
—  
  
Yoochun has always loved his daughter. She’s a bright girl, usually very happy and well mannered, able to play by herself and seem unassuming. Which is how he learns, as he listens to her whisper into his ear, that Jinki had been rifling through their things. Bastard.  
  
Of course, the information’s not given intentionally. She comes to him, eyes swimming with tears to confess that she had snuck into Jiyong’s room, even though she knows she’s not supposed to go near it, and she feels terribly guilty. But Jinki had been in there! And he was listening to all the messages on Jiyong’s communicator and then left in a hurry, leaving a mess. Shouldn’t he be in trouble too?  
  
Yoochun rather thinks he should. It’s painfully obvious what he had heard; Heechul has been leaving them messages non stop about returning  _what is his_. Like Hyunjoong is a possession.  
  
Clearly, Jinki has figured out who the brain Duster is. Or rather, who their decoy Duster is, and Yoochun’s never been more happy that Seunghyun concocted that scheme.  
  
Yoochun sort of wants to buy his daughter a pony. Anything, really, to assert how pleased he is with her. “You’ve just saved his life,” he informed her, “You stay here and keep your ears open for anything else you learn, baby. I have to go rescue him. You call my communicator if you learn anything else, okay?”  
  
She looks surprised that she’s not in trouble, happily agreeing to play lookout, and Yoochun stops worrying about her and her need to be constantly involved. This should keep her happy for awhile. And he knows the Scientists wouldn’t hurt a child, not if they’re running an orphanage. So long as Jinki isn’t the one that confronts them, Yoochun thinks they’ll be able to keep up a facade of friendship, especially now that they know he’s poking around for information. They’ll just have to be careful. So he kisses his daughter’s forehead and leaves her with the other children whom she promptly starts to boss around.  
  
Ryeowook is watching them, and Yoochun thinks hasn’t been informed of the situation because he gives a cheerful wave as Yoochun leaves.  
  
It wouldn’t take long for Yunho to figure out which ship belongs to Jiyong; he’d seen it before after all. So Yoochun comms Jaejoong as he barrels down the street, mostly able to avoid the vendors and people, though he thinks someone spills a drink on him as he turns a sharp corner.  
  
“Yunho’s here,” Yoochun says, “And someone told him that Hyunjoong’s a brain Duster.”  
  
“ _What_?”  
  
“I’m five minutes away.” Thank heavens the orphanage is so close to the docking bay.  
  
He doesn’t explain further. When he reaches the the  _Arach_  (soaked with puddle water, shirt ripped from who-knows-what,) he’s relieved to find out that Yunho hasn’t discovered them and Yoobin’s warning gave Jaejoong enough time to procure some weapons. Daesung is holding a huge automatic. It looks a bit out of place in the hands of someone who’s grin is nearly shattering their face.  
  
“Henry just called,” Jaejoong tells him, and he hands over a gun, “He says he and Donghae are hidden behind an asteroid because Kyuhyun’s lurking.”  
  
“The hell is Henry doing here?”  
  
Jaejoong grinds his teeth about the same time Seunghyun spits out a horrid curse. “Seungri’s the spy, apparently. Henry’s been chasing after him.”  
  
 _Thank god we didn’t take him here with us,_  Yoochun thinks, feeling a bit faint, and instead of voicing aloud his sympathy (or perhaps horror) squeezes Seunghyun’s shoulder.  
  
They lock the ship down, breathing lightly as they wait before Jaejoong jumps, fumbling for his comm and almost dropping it in his haste. “Hangeng. I should call Hangeng. If he orchestrated this…”  
  
It’s unlikely, Yoochun knows, because Hangeng needs them to get the Dust, and when Hangeng answers the call, listening attentively and then cursing as Jaejoong finishes, all thoughts of betrayal flee Yoochun’s mind. “I told him not to stir up trouble. I’ll be right there. Please don’t kill anyone.”  
  
“We’ll wait,” Jaejoong assures him, just as boots sounded outside, pounding in a rhythm that could only mean  _Scientist_. “But do try to hurry. I think they’re searching outside.”  
  
Yoochun has never been more thankful for the Jiyong’s hacking skills. It took a few moments to crack into the cameras monitoring the docking bay and sure enough, Yunho and his squadron of elite guards are carefully picking their way around machinery and dollies, deck hands dashing around them so fast they’re a blur of Dust on Jiyong’s monitors.  
  
The sound of guns loading with Dust bullets is loud, Daesung’s even more so, his magazine slamming into the metal with a bang; Yoochun’s sure they hear it outside even though they make no sign that they do.  
  
“Should we talk to them?” Jaejoong asks, “So Hangeng has time to get here and stop this.”  
  
“Let’s see what they do first,” Jiyong whispers.  
  
“If they don’t bring the orphanage up, leave it out. Yoobin’s still there, and better the devil we know.”  
  
“I agree,” Seunghyun says, “For now. Let’s make it out of this first.”  
  
It doesn’t take long for the Scientists to make a move. Yunho steps forward first, saying loudly (and a bit bravely, considering they are not on his turf,) “I know you’re brain Duster is in there. Kim Hyunjoong. We just want to talk.”  
  
“Talk my ass,” Seunghyun mutters.  
  
“We know you left Heechul and we’d like to know why.”  
  
Jiyong hits a button and as he speaks, Yoochun can hear an echo of the captain’s voice coming back through his hacking of the cameras. It’s a strange effect, and he almost laughs at the absurdity of it. They should open the door to hear better, but then they’d most likely get shot, and no one wants that.  
  
“You’re welcome to believe whatever you’d like.”  
  
Yunho looks mildly surprised that he had been answered so quickly. “Can we meet?”  
  
“I’m not sure that’s advantageous for us, at the moment.”  
  
The Scientist laughs, a sort of snorting chuckle that makes Yoochun want to strangle him.  _Is he actually being_ derisive?  
  
“I promise we won’t shoot anyone. That’s the last thing we want.”  
  
The last thing they want is  _Hyunjoong_  hurt, Yoochun knows, and Jaejoong’s tight jaw tells him he’s not the only one who’s interpreted it this way. Another call to Hangeng informs them he’s minutes away, and so Jiyong says carefully, “Very well. We’ll come out. But you need to put your guns down.”  
  
They let Hyunjoong go first, Jaejoong at his elbow, and as they emerge, Yunho’s face in unreadable. Yoochun silently thanks his daughter for her warning and decides expensive or no, he’s going to have to grant her a wish. Without her warning, this would not be to their favor and someone would have been hurt. Badly.  
  
“Thank you for getting Minho out,” Yunho starts, “We were worried.”  
  
“We didn’t do it for him,” Jiyong says, “Or you. We did it to keep Heechul safe.”  
  
Yoochun’s not sure if Yunho figures out why, but he continues as if that hadn’t phased him at all. His breathing gives away nothing as to what he may be thinking. “Why did you leave Heechul?”  
  
“What will you tell us if we tell you that?” Jaejoong asks, “We’re not stupid, Jung, nor are we powerless.”  
  
Yunho’s gazes rests briefly on Hyunjoong’s face and Yoochun’s feels his breath catch for a moment. A look of longing passes over his features. “I’m well aware of that.”  
  
“Then what is the point of this?”  
  
Clearly they have one, though Yunho doesn’t say it, which means that it’s something they don’t want to announce—which, Yoochun can only conclude—means it’s harmful to Hyunjoong, and probably everyone else.  _Snatch and dash_ , he thinks, except that everyone is a Duster on their side, and he’s sure not everyone on Yunho’s is.  
  
“Making any sudden movements is a really stupid idea,” he finds himself saying, “And I suggest you stay out of our reach.”  
  
“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Yunho assures him, “I merely wanted to find out why you left Heechul.”  
  
“Not because we disagree with him,” Jaejoong says, “So if you’re trying to convince us to be on your side, you should just turn around and leave.”  
  
“Not that I would disagree to having you…on our side,” Yunho’s mouth quirks a little at this, “I have a limited time frame to work in right now and I’d rather not blow this.”  
  
Yoochun has no idea what that means, but he can feel the breathing of some of the officers get heavier and he’s absolutely positive that in about a minute, people will start shooting.  
  
“Yunho!”  
  
It’s Hangeng. Hangeng furious is a wonderful sight. He and a squad of guards spill into the hangar, just this side of sprinting, and Yunho has a gun in his face before anyone can move to prevent it. “Jung Yunho, I gave you a warning.”  
  
“You gave me twenty-four hours. I had a few loose ends to tie up.”  
  
Still, his breathing is normal, and Yoochun has to give the man credit. Does nothing make him anxious?  
  
“I told you to butt out of their business, not point guns at one another.”  
  
“Our guns are not—“  
  
“Turn around,” Hangeng hisses, “And walk out of here. Now. Anything you have left to load I will send to you. Leave. Right now.”  
  
And this time, Yoochun felt it. A small hitch in breath. “Hangeng,” Yunho begins, “They have a—“  
  
“I’m perfectly aware of their particular skills. If I cared, I would have done something about it.”  
  
And oh, Yoochun thinks, there it is. Yunho is confused because to him, a brain Duster is the most important thing at stake. But he doesn’t know about the Dust and Hangeng does. And Hangeng is being smart. After all, Dusters are worthless without Dust to manipulate.  
  
“You’ve overstayed your welcome.”  
  
“Fine,” Yunho nods, “We’re leaving. I hope this will not reflect on the orphanage.”  
  
“Since none of them are here, I will let it be,” Hangeng promises, “Though the next time you visit, there will be further restrictions placed on you before I decide to trust you again.”  
  
They back out slowly, faced down with Hangeng’s guns until the door to the hangar bay shuts behind them. Yoochun feels everyone around him release the air in their lungs, relieved.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Hangeng turns immediately to Jaejoong, “I told him not to bother you after he called me, but clearly I should have put a guard on him.”  
  
“It’s fine,” Jaejoong shrugs, “No one is hurt.”  
  
“I trust this will not affect our agreement?” Hangeng raises an eyebrow. Really, Yoochun marvels, he is incredibly intent about that Dust. It’s something of a relief, though he worries about what will happen when Hangeng gets what he wants.  
  
“Thank you for coming when you did.”  
  
They part amicably, Hangeng ordering a few guards to stay at the bay doors. “I’ll leave them here until Yunho is off my station. Will you have any trouble at the orphanage?”  
  
“We’ll just be extra cautious, I think. We’ll let you know if we need help.”  
  
“You do that.”  
  
Their smiles are tight as Hangeng walks out, but the missing tension from the room is so obvious, Yoochun very nearly collapses. Seunghyun claps him on the back reassuringly, “Come on. You have to go tell your daughter she saved the day.”  
  
—  
  
Jaejoong waits for confirmation from Henry that Kyuhyun and Yunho have both ‘Ported out of the Asteroid Field.  
  
“What are you planning?” Daesung asks him, and Jaejoong is reminded of the time Daesung had said that exact same thing when he had been guarding Minho. The smile is still as unnerving as ever.  
  
“I need to go back to my ship,” Jaejoong says, “Are you up for it?”  
  
Daesung’s smile is genuine this time around, all creepiness gone, and he disappears into the cockpit to prep.  
  
“You want those schematics?” Hyunjoong asks, from where he’s leaning against a bulkhead. It’s deceptive casual.  
  
“Yes. None of the Dust we brought back has grown any, and so I want to check to see what’s happened at the ship.”  
  
“It hasn’t been too long,” Hyunjoong frowns, and Jaejoong knows what he means. It had been three years since any of them had been there. Who knew how long it took for the Dust to reproduce?  
  
“I want to check anyway,” Jaejoong shrugs and Hyunjoong nods, shoving himself away from the wall and heading down towards Jiyong’s engine.  
  
“You better ask Jiyong before you take his ship.”  
  
It won’t do to have Jiyong think Jaejoong’s betraying him as well.  
  
—  
  
The trip is relatively silent and Jaejoong only has to drop three ‘Holes to get them there safely. They had ended up taking Henry along for protection, and the moment Jaejoong’s old ship comes into view, Dust swirling around it, he hails them.  
  
“What is that?”  
  
“Dust, of course,” Jaejoong says, “And you will keep your mouth shut about it or Hyunjoong will find a very painful way to shut it forever. I’m going to board and I want Taemin with me. Can you spare him or not?”  
  
“Whatever you need him for,” Henry assures Jaejoong immediately, “We won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”  
  
“Hangeng already knows, but please don’t say anything to any Runners. Now is not the time.”  
  
The  _Cadenza_  is small and able to fit easily into the hangar of Jaejoong’s old cruiser, even with one of Jiyong’s miniature Snub Fighters docked beside it. They are only ever for emergencies, as their maintenance is hell, and Jaejoong had never had the need to fly one, but there’s a first time for everything.  
  
“Why do you need me?” Taemin asks, as Hyunjoong jogs down to engineering to check the ship’s systems.  
  
“Because we need the information in the systems of this ship but it’s all encoded and we can’t get it off.”  
  
“Sounds fun,” Taemin comments, and he looks more excited than Jaejoong’s ever seen him.  
  
It takes most of the day to copy the files onto Taemin’s drives and there’s barely enough storage space for it all. Jaejoong has nothing to do while they wait, so he cleans, bothers Hyunjoong as he tunes up the engine and eventually settles on taking a nap. When he wakes up, Taemin is just beginning to unplug his equipment.  
  
“Any idea how long it will take for you to decode that?”  
  
“A few days, maybe,” Taemin says, “Give or take. I don’t really know. I’ve never seen anything like it.”  
  
“I have faith in you,” Jaejoong tells him, tossing an arm around Taemin’s shoulders, “If we can learn how the Dust manages to reproduce itself, the wait is worth it. Besides, Hangeng has big guns; he’ll ward off the nightmares for awhile.”  
  
“ _Reproduce_?”  
  
“Hyunjoong can take the Snub back; I’ll come aboard Henry’s ship with you and give you the whole story.”  
  
Which he does, minus the part about himself being the brain Duster. It’s not something he wants people knowing just yet. By the time they get back to Hangeng’s, Taemin’s already cracked part of the code and estimates to have it completely finished in the next few days.  
  
Jaejoong is very glad Taemin’s on their side.  
  
—  
  
When Boa gets back to Heechul’s, she finds him nearly as pissed off as she is. When she finds out Seungri had escaped, she decides that an active volcano is rather representative of her feelings. Cursing helps, as well as several bottles of expensive wine split between Heechul and herself.  
  
“I’ve been a fool,” she admits, dangerously close to passing out, “Playing around with him, thinking I could get some sort of information out of him. Now that I have—I don’t think I can go back. Which is sad. I really like him. And the sex.”  
  
“What—are you talking about?”  
  
“I have the saddest love life,” Boa pouts, ignoring the question, “It’s depressing.”  
  
“Love,” Heechul sneers, “Never done me any good. Look at Sungmin!”  
  
Boa swings her head around the room before realizing Heechul means “look” figuratively.  
  
“In love with a Scientist,” He continues, waving his glass around, “He was even asked to defect.”  
  
“Sad,” Boa agrees, thinking of Yunho’s skin and his warmth, and the way he smiles at her when they walk down the street or when he bends down to kiss her cheek or even when he gets his hands underneath her shirt, his gorgeous fingers tracing every curve of her skin.  
  
“Deplorable,” Heechul continues, “Boa, darling, we’re royally screwed. I think. We might be nearing the end. Of us.”  
  
Ah. A change in topic. Boa can roll with that. “I want to blast some stuff into the sky,” she admits.  _Seungri. A few Scientists. Though not Yunho._  
  
“Go out in a fleeting blaze of glory,” Heechul muses.  
  
“Fireballs and all that,” Boa adds.  
  
“I like it.”  
  
They toast. Some of the wine in Boa’s glass spills over accidentally and she watches it for a moment, as it runs across the back of her hand and drips onto the floor, blood red.  
  
A moment of fleeting glory.  
  
She wipes the mess on her pants, not caring that they’ll probably stain.  _I can do that_ , she thinks, and downs the rest of her wine in one shot.

 

 

\--

 

 

It takes Taemin two days to break the code.  
  
When he emerges from his room in the  _Cadenza_ , data pads in hand, his eye bags have reached the middle of his cheeks and his hair is greasy and uncombed. Jaejoong thinks it’s the most attractive Taemin’s ever been.  
  
“This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life,” Taemin announces, before promptly passing out.  
  
Jaejoong and Hyunjoong read the data first, and the most significant piece of information Taemin has digitally italicized, underlined, and bolded, is about Jaejoong’s ship. The Dust, the notes say, is integrally tied with the ship. It’s disguised as a useless C carrier, but in actuality, it is made of a compound Scientists (real ones, not the political sort) had developed five hundred years ago, secretly, at a facility on the moon.  
  
“A facility,” Taemin tells them once he’s roused, “whose sole purpose was to develop this particular compound to make Dust.”  
  
“And the compound is in the ship?”  
  
“Part of it, yes. The compound was in your ship while you were in cryo and it had five hundred years to sink into the metal and components of it, so I don’t think you’ll get it back. But the ships logs detail exactly what it’s made of—not that I understand any of it. I imagine Hangeng’s Scientists will be able to figure that out.”  
  
Jaejoong’s sure they will be. With a compound that proves Dust is man made and not the fault of a meteorite, the possibilities are endless.  
  
“There’s more,” Taemin continues, this time a bit hesitantly. “About you.”  
  
Hyunjoong fingers pause on the data pad and Jaejoong raises an eyebrow in an attempt to hide the nervous feeling he suddenly feels in the pit of his stomach. “About Jaejoong?” Hyunjoong asks.  
  
“About Jaejoong and about the meteorite. Both are related.”  
  
Jaejoong waits.  
  
“It was called Project Glory. The creation of Dust, a super weapon, and the Duster, a super soldier. About twenty ships like yours were made, with cryo chambers prepared for all of them in case they couldn’t develop this idea like they wanted and had to post pone it. When the meteorite suddenly changed course and headed for earth, they didn’t have a lot of time, so the first refugees that arrived from earth were shoved into the cryo chambers on the ships. No one expected it to be permanent.”  
  
“But,” Jaejoong hypothesizes carefully, “An unpredictable meteorite is unpredictable and when it changed course again and hit the moon—“  
  
Taemin nods, grimly, “Most everything was destroyed, save for your ship and the caretaker on it. The story is that the moon imploded, but according to your ship, what happened is that the explosions caused the unrefined Dust to release, which resulted in wormholes, taking with it chunks of the moon and the Dust that hadn’t escaped.”  
  
“Wait. Caretaker?”  
  
“Caretaker,” Taemin nods. “Each ship was assigned a caretaker for its super soldier. It’s how I know all this; he recorded it before putting himself in cryo. Jaejoong, there was another cryo chamber on that ship. In an escape pod.”  
  
“Another…”  
  
Jaejoong grips the arm of his chair, barely registering Hyunjoong’s concerned hand on his shoulder.  
  
“This might stun you,” Taemin says, apologetically. “Your caretaker linked your cryo chamber to the second one so that when you woke up, so would he.”  
  
“So where is he? Did he survive?”  
  
“I think so,” Taemin nods, “Though we’ll have to ask him for the details.”  
  
“You know who he is?”  
  
Taemin cocks his head, “It could be coincidence, but I highly doubt it, considering the rumors I’ve heard. Your caretaker’s name is Zhou Mi.”  
  
—  
  
They’re quick to realize it’s too big a project for Hangeng’s Scientists to handle by themselves. The amount of resources required to recreate the component in Jaejoong’s ship is vast, and Hangeng begrudgingly admits that as nice as it would be to do this by themselves, they cannot. They need help.  
  
“How much help?” Jaejoong asks, a little wary of the answer.  
  
“As much as we can get. I don’t think this is something we can hide any longer.”  
  
They’ve barely hid it at all. Jaejoong sighs, willing away an oncoming headache. “Like Scientist help or Runner help?”  
  
“Is it really fair to choose one over the other in this?”  
  
Jaejoong chokes on his own spit. “You want them both?” he tries to clarify, when he can breathe.  
  
“We don’t have a choice. If we choose one than the other will use any means necessary to thwart the plans. Maybe they succeed, maybe they don’t, either way, it’s a mess. If we hold this, and your brain Duster over their heads, they might find a way to cooperate.”  
  
“Dead bodies are the most likely outcome.”  
  
“People deserve a chance, Jaejoong.”  
  
“It’s really weird that you’re telling me that, considering that you’ve locked yourself away from the galaxy’s problems.”  
  
“I had enough money,” Hangeng shrugs, and Jaejoong has to fight back an urge to roll his eyes. Besides. If they had the meeting, and if it didn’t really go well, he’ll just sell the Dust. And then he’ll have “enough money” too.  
  
—  
  
The message is succinct. Jaejoong begins it with “Please don’t jump to conclusions, Heechul,” and ends it with Hyunjoong showing a bit of Jaejoong’s Dust. Heechul had heard Jaejoong talk about it before, of course, but no one had brought it up since before the Mars incident.  
  
They don’t explain beyond that, counting on the lure of the potent Dust to bait the leaders, but there are explicit rules, should they agree: one ship that will stay in the Asteroid Field and a shuttle from Hangeng will take them to and from the meeting. No fighters, no weapons, Dusters willingly submit to a minimal amount of drugs to keep the meeting fair. Donghae brings the message directly to Heechul, Henry now having fully allied (and proven) himself to Jaejoong. Yunho is a bit trickier, but they finally settle on telling Jinki in hopes that he’ll agree to relay the message for them. Minho had given him Kyuhyun’s comm frequency earlier, but Jaejoong thinks it’s best not to use that. Kyuhyun has a rash reputation for a reason.  
  
Their relations at the orphanage had been cool at best, the only thing keeping them from pulling out guns being the children, and so Yoochun decides it’s his time to shine. Jinki’s a father too, and if the promise of a better future for his daughter isn’t enough to get him to listen, then Yoochun doesn’t know what is. And he’ll have to revoke Jinki’s current status as Doting Father Who Would Do Anything For His Child if he doesn’t agree.  
  
Yoochun leaves his gun at the  _Arach_ , takes a container of Dust and holds tightly onto Yoobin’s hand, knocking tentatively on the door he’d seen Jinki enter five minutes before.  
  
“Come in.”  
  
“I left my weapon outside,” Yoochun says when Jinki looks a little alarmed at his presence. “May we sit down?”  
  
No one else is in the room, and as suspected, Yoobin’s presence does the trick, Jinki giving a short nod after he sees her clinging to Yoochun’s leg.  
  
“We need you to get a message to Yunho.”  
  
“It’s very important,” Yoobin says, face scrunched up imperiously. “Daddy says the fate of the galaxy rests on this.”  
  
“I can’t imagine what’s so important,” Jinki says carefully.  
  
“Dust, of course,” Yoochun waves his hand and then uses his other fish in his pocket for the container. It probably looks as though he’s reaching for a weapon, but by the time Jinki realizes it, Yoochun’s retrieved the Dust and hands it over.  
  
“What is this?”  
  
Yoochun lets him open it, and he knows the moment Jinki realizes that it isn’t your ordinary Dust because his lungs stop moving for a horrified second.  
  
“We know how to make this,” Yoochun says, “But we can’t do it alone. Can you give Yunho a message or not?”  
  
Jinki watches the Dust for a moment, swirling around in the container, twice as bright as normal Dust and Yoochun tries not to purr in satisfaction as Jinki’s inhibitions fall away.  
  
“I can,” Jinki says, “I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear something.”  
  
He gives Yoobin a lollipop on their way out, and Yoochun hopes it all works out. Jinki would be a nice person to permanently have around.  
  
—  
  
Jinki’s never seen Dust like this, not even in the stuff Jungsoo and Kangin bring back from the outer reaches of space. He runs some tests on it, confirming that it’s real, uses a bit of it to power his comm battery that had been dying and is floored as what would maybe give his comm an sixteenth (or less) of power overloads the circuitry and nearly starts a fire.  
  
He’ll have to buy a new comm, he thinks, a bit sad because he likes this particular model, and goes in search of the emergency one they keep in the house. He inputs Yunho’s frequency, having memorized it a long time ago, and Yunho’s face fizzles into view looking very concerned.  
  
“Look,” Jinki commands, before Yunho can get a word in edgewise. Best if he gets back to Yoochun as soon as he can in case he has other people willing to take this Dust. “Yoochun came to see me. He said they can make this and they want to talk.”  
  
Yunho seems at a loss for words.  
  
“I’m going to tell them yes. It’s set for tomorrow. One ship, no guns, they’ll send a transport. And you have to submit to Duster drugs.” Fair terms, if it means obtaining more of this. Jinki waves his hand. “Did you hear me?”  
  
“Is that legit?”  
  
“It’s real Dust. I don’t know how to prove they know how to make it, though. I guess we’ll find that out tomorrow.”  
  
“I’ll be there,” Yunho agrees, a little hollowly.  
  
“I think they’re asking Heechul and Boa, as well. Be prepared for that.”  
  
The leader’s features sharpen a bit, a frown threatening to blossom, but honestly it’s something to be expected. He’s sure someone will sneak in a weapon and maybe they’ll get to capture some people of their own.  
  
Yunho cuts the transmission without saying goodbye, but Jinki doesn’t much mind. Yoochun had given him several of the groups comm frequencies, including his own, and Jinki digs them out now, not having to wait long before he hears Yoochun’s voice, Dust sizzling in it. “We’ll be there,” Jinki tells him, and ends the call before Yoochun can respond.  
  
A door bangs open downstairs (most likely Jongwoon, the only one who hadn’t gotten used to being quiet around the kids,) and Jinki sighs. He walks back into his room, slipping into the adjacent one that holds a crib for his daughter, and he peers at her. She’s awake, cooing at the patterns her night light is making on the ceiling. Jinki holds up the Dust for her to see and almost immediately her pudgy fingers grab at it.  
  
“Isn’t it amazing?” Jinki whispers to her, and she gurgles, her hands now grasping at her feet. “Looks like your future isn’t so dark after all, princess.”  
  
Drool leaks out of her mouth and Jinki tucks the canister of Dust away, turning his Scientist mode off and his father one on in time to keep her from spitting up all over herself. “Mama needs to burp you better,” He grumbles, and her response is spewed out onto his face.  
  
—  
  
Jaejoong waits until most everyone is on Jiyong’s ship and fast asleep. Yoochun and Yoobin are curled up together on the cot next to him, and Hyunjoong snoring softly in the hammock above them. Jaejoong isn’t sure where Daesung sleeps, but it’s clearly in a place that’s difficult to find, and Jaejoong had seen Jiyong pressing Seunghyun up against a bulkhead not fifteen minutes ago, so at least for the next few hours, Jaejoong is completely alone.  
  
He shuts himself in the cockpit, taking a few moments to appreciate the relative silence before entering the codes for communications access and types in a frequency he knows by heart.  
  
Sungmin’s sleepy voice answers and a moment later his head appears, hair tousled and blinking grit from his eyes.  
  
“I’m sorry to call this late.”  
  
“Jaejoong?” Sungmin squints. “Jaejoong!”  
  
“Don’t raise an alarm, Sungmin. This is really important. I need to talk to Zhou Mi.”  
  
“He’s sleeping.”  
  
Sungmin eyes dart to his left, the Dust enhanced images leaving little trails of light.  
  
“You’re sleeping with him?” Not that Jaejoong can blame Sungmin; it’s technically his fault, after all, and Sungmin’s lip curling in anger means he’s thinking the same exact thing. “Sorry. You’re sleeping with him, that’s great. Can you please wake him up?”  
  
“I can. I don’t know if I should.”  
  
There’s a muffled voice that doesn’t at all sound like Sungmin and Jaejoong grins, positive he’d just heard the words, “I’m awake,” and waits, arms crossed over his chest as Sungmin glares at him for a moment before huffing.  
  
“Fine. Hold on.”  
  
The image tilts as it’s passed into Zhou Mi’s hands and he actually looks a lot better than the last time Jaejoong had seen him. Sungmin is indeed a miracle worker. Zhou Mi narrows his eyes, taking a good look at Jaejoong’s face before he sighs, settling back on what Jaejoong can only assume to be Sungmin’s pillows. “I see you’ve found out.”  
  
“I have some questions.”  
  
“ _Found out what?”_  Sungmin’s voice croaks, and Zhou Mi waves a hand in dismissal.  
  
“Whatever you want to know, I’ll answer.”  
  
“We asked Taemin to decipher the code on my ship. He said—you were my caretaker. What does that mean?”  
  
Apparently that he is indebted to Zhou Mi for life. As he hears the story, Jaejoong feels a bit of his control slip out of his grasp. He owes his life to a Scientist. A goddamn Scientist.  
  
“The ship was programmed to wake you up from cryo when something got near enough to it that could rescue us.”  
  
“So you were there.”  
  
“I was supposed to be. But somewhere in the middle of the meteorite hitting and trying to get you stabilized, something must have malfunctioned and I didn’t notice. As soon as I realized it might be longer than a year before the mess was cleared up, I linked your cryo chamber to the one in the pod so that as soon as you started to wake up, so would I. And then I put myself in it. I have no idea how or when I was ejected from the ship, but when I started to wake up I was near Venus. I just headed straight for Earth thinking someone had found you but I was picked up by Kyuhyun. I’ve been searching for a very long time. It was only a year ago that I started to work with Yunho on fighting Heechul and when I saw your picture—“ Zhou Mi shrugged, the image leaving trails of light like Sungmin’s eyes had minutes earlier. “Well. I didn’t know how to contact you. And I was upset you were fighting against people who had saved me. And then you captured me, and I realized this was my chance.”  
  
“You didn’t leave because you wanted to bring Jaejoong with you,” Sungmin voice says faintly.  
  
Zhou Mi nods. “Yes. I wanted to bring you,” he says, looking to his left where Jaejoong assumes Sungmin is watching, “Jaejoong. And the brain Duster. Though—you are the brain Duster, aren’t you, Jaejoong? It was very apparent Hyunjoong is nothing but a nerve Duster after that incident on Mars.”  
  
It’s not like he can deny it at this point. Sungmin already knows anyway, and if he wants their cooperation, he’s going to have to be honest. “Keep it under wraps, please. I’d like to go into tomorrow’s meeting with as many cards up my sleeve as I can. Speaking of which, did Heechul talk to you, Sungmin?”  
  
One of Sungmin’s eyes and half of his nose becomes visible. “About the meeting? He mentioned it. Said there’s no way in hell Zhou Mi is allowed to come. He didn’t say why’s he’s bothering, though. Only that you’re a bastard and if he has a chance to shoot anyone in the face he will.”  
  
“We’re meeting because of Dust. Dust that Hyunjoong and Seunghyun found me in. I was hoping Zhou Mi could tell me more about it…” Jaejoong holds up a canister of it, watching as Sungmin tries to shove Zhou Mi’s head out of the way to get a closer look.  
  
“What is that?”  
  
“Our Dust,” Zhou Mi breathes, grinning madly, “Well. I think. It was never actually made. I was surprised when Kyuhyun picked me up and I saw a weaker version of it being used. I tried to recreate the more powerful stuff, of course, but that hadn’t been my job as a researcher, and I couldn’t remember the exact formula nor find the compounds we had used. Did you make it?”  
  
“No, but we have the recipe. Hangeng’s Scientists are looking into it, but he doesn’t have the resources to do it and neither do we. No one does. We’ll have to pool them.”  
  
“I’ll help you.” Zhou Mi offers. “Not sure Sungmin will leave Heechul, though. He doesn’t seem keen on betrayal.”  
  
“This isn’t betrayal,” Jaejoong says, “We want everyone to work together.” Sungmin’s eye and nose do not look happy, but he doesn’t say anything. “Heechul will never give you permission to leave, so just wait until he’s gone and then sneak out. I have faith in you.”  
  
Sungmin’s nostril flares. “I’m perfectly capable of sneaking out.”  
  
—  
  
Yunho tells Kyuhyun to plan with Siwon, excusing himself to “go see someone that will be able to help them in the meeting of the Runners” and in an hour, has docked at his favorite space station and is walking through the streets to Boa’s apartment.  
  
She had called him first, and he had agreed, sending his message in text rather than voice because he’s not sure what the sound (or sight) of her will do to him. They haven’t spoken since the debacle at Hangeng’s; Yunho hadn’t even been sure she’d made it off his station until she’d messaged him, and so when he gets up to her door, he’s understandably nervous. He enters her code, toeing off his shoes as he gets inside and finds her standing by the window. She’s wearing his favorite nightgown of hers, one with more silk than lace and he wants to run his hands across it.  
  
But they need to talk first.  
  
He disassembles his gun, making a show of pulling out the power pack. He shuts off his communicator, tossing his coat onto the floor, and sinks into the cushions of one her chairs. His hand is out for a second before Boa takes it, folding into him and he lets his Dust sink into her, working out the kinks in her back. It takes him a moment to realize she’s crying.  
  
It takes him another to get himself under control and turn her face to wipe at it, framing her cheeks with his palms as he memorizes every ridge and curve of her face. It’s probably the last time he’ll see her like this, considering things are most likely not going to go well tomorrow, even with a brain Duster there to control everyone.  
  
Their kiss is gentle.  
  
“Let’s go to Hangeng’s together.”  
  
 _Show up together_ , Yunho’s brain translates. “What would that mean?”  
  
“We’re willing to make this work,” Boa says.  
  
He kisses her again, though half heartedly, thinking furiously about the consequences of arriving at Hangeng’s with Boa. Siwon might kill him. Kyuhyun might kill Boa. God knows what Heechul would do.  
  
“We all need that Dust,” Boa murmurs against his mouth. She’d straddled him sometime in the last few minutes and Yunho has a hard time clearing his mind with her legs bent around him, night clothes pushed up to reveal her bare skin.  
  
“We do,” Yunho agrees, tugging away Boa’s fingers that had slipped underneath his shirt and been thumbing the skin of his hipbone. “Boa, I never—” he huffs, trying to make sense of his thoughts, “There were so many times that I—when we were together—“  _So many times that I nearly handcuffed you or called Siwon to come take you in._  He can’t say it. “So many times I nearly walked away.”  
  
“It hasn’t been easy.”  
  
She settles against him, their foreheads resting on one another, his hands gripping her waist tight and her arms around his neck; they are much more comfortable than the back of the couch. “Worth it, though,” she adds. The hitch in her voice is a question, and he soothes her, tilting his head up to kiss her cheek.  
  
“I was sure someday I’d lose you,” he admits, finally. With his eyes closed, it’s a lot easier to control his emotions, and he doesn’t continue his train of thought until he’s sure he’s not going to burst into tears. “It’s not fair, what we’ve done to each other.”  
  
“All’s fair in love and war.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s true,” Yunho says, curling her hair behind her ear, “But you get points for quoting arcane literature.”  
  
She grins at him and for a moment, he’s lost in her, the sound of her laughter, her hair falling back into his face, the way the lights from the city outside shine through it. A line flits through his mind,  _let me show you how to score some more points with me, beautiful_ , but he gets the feeling that opening his mouth would ruin the mood. So he picks her up instead, letting her wrap around him as he kisses her, stumbling back into the coffee table, a wall, a door, before making it to a bed.  
  
 _I already miss you_ , he doesn’t say.  
  
He wants this to feel like any other night of theirs, like they’ll wake up and not have to worry about possibly shooting one another at the meeting. But it’s hard to run a hand across her thigh and think that maybe it’s the last time, that perhaps he’ll never get another chance to kiss across her collarbone and watch her shudder underneath his fingertips.  
  
He’s gentle like he’s never been before, but desperate, plays dirty by manipulating her muscles and watches her writhe because of it. He fights back tears as she pushes up against him and doesn’t let himself go until she’s stroking his back, a happy sigh releasing against his neck.  
  
“I would do anything for that Dust,” Boa whispers, “Anything, Yunho. Heechul, too.”  
  
“Jaejoong’s betting on that,” Yunho arranges himself next to her, tangling his legs into hers and threading their fingers together as she presses a kiss onto his chest.  
  
“I had an idea.”  
  
“Is it insane?”  
  
“We could all die.”  
  
It’s not like that’s any different than the fate waiting for them when they meet with Jaejoong—and Yunho finds he trusts Boa a lot more than he trusts anyone else, perhaps more than his own captains. He tries to think of a headline that would suit this precarious situation and realizes he doesn’t have one. A moment later he realizes that he doesn’t care.  
  
“I’m listening.”


	10. Chapter 10

  
Seunghyun steers clear of the docking bay while the leaders make their move, watching from a far as ships glide in and out of it. When Hangeng calls to tell him everyone’s arrived, Seunghyun’s a little surprised—he hadn’t recognized any of the ships he’d seen. Clearly, no one wanted to be identified…not that he blames them.  
  
He hears someone outside enter the code for the door and after a moment of concentration, identifies the particular way Jiyong’s heart beats.  
  
“You ready?”  
  
“Mostly,” Seunghyun nods. “I’ve just been thinking.” And planning.  
  
“About what?”  
  
“You,” he teases, and smiles when Jiyong pinches him. “Well, sort of. Jiyong, if it were you, and you really wanted this Dust, would you honest to God be willing to have someone else dictate how and when you use it?”  
  
“Well…”  
  
“I’ve just been sitting here, thinking about the past few days and after everything we’ve put both the Runners and the Scientists through. If I were them, I wouldn’t be so willing to trust us. Even if we do have lots of Dust. I would want to attempt getting it without having to make a deal.”  
  
Jiyong frowns and Seunghyun knows the exact moment when his partner connects the dots to Seunghyun’s words because Jiyong’s heart picks up pace. “You think they’re going to try and steal it?”  
  
“They’re not stupid,” Seunghyun murmurs, “They know they can’t penetrate Hangeng’s fortress separately, especially not with a brain Duster here, but together…together they can pull it off. Together, they can steal the Dust and the formula for it, maybe even nab Hyunjoong, destroy Hangeng altogether and then go back to fighting one another with new and advanced supplies, which, if we’re being honest, is something they love to do. Especially Kyuhyun and Heechul.”  
  
“I don’t know that they’d let each other off so easy,” Jiyong says, “But I see your point. Especially since they’d have a better chance at beating one another with the new Dust, and that’s what they want: not an alliance.”  
  
“You remember what I told you about Boa sleeping with someone?”  
  
“You think it’s a Scientist?”  
  
“I think it’s Yunho,” Seunghyun corrects, tapping at Jiyong’s dropped jaw until it closes. “Yunho  _knows_  who Boa is: they were together before Yunho ever took office, if you’ll remember. They’ve known each other since they were kids. She’s made no secret of that. Why wouldn’t they continue their relationship without anyone else knowing?” Seunghyun can think of a few reasons, but they know Boa; she loves unconditionally. Giving up on Yunho because he’s the Scientist isn’t something she’d do.  
  
“So you think they’ve made an agreement between the two of them to raid us?”  
  
“Destroy, probably.”  
  
“We won’t be able to fend them both off.”  
  
“We just have to be prepared.”  
  
Jiyong eyes him, eyebrows knitting together and Seunghyun takes his hand, tugging on it. “Come on. We only have a little bit of time, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.”  
  
They go to Taemin first, instructing him to crack into Hangeng’s computers and run some very dangerous scans that could, if not done correctly, burn sensors out. But this is Taemin, and it’s done perfectly and just in time. “There’s definitely more ships out there than just Kyuhyun and Heechul’s,” he confirms, pointing at the masses on the viewer. “I recognize some as Heechul’s, but the others I’m not too sure.”  
  
“Yunho’s,” Seunghyun says, “Boa doesn’t own anything like that.”  
  
Taemin frowns, leaning in closer to the screen. “What’s going on?”  
  
“Can you comm Henry and Daesung for me?” Jiyong asks.  
  
 _”What’s going on?”_  
  
“We think they formed an alliance before they came here. We think they’re going to obliterate us. Keep an eye on those ships for me, if you can. Comm us if there’s any change.”  
  
Taemin’s heart is beating frantically, but his face is calm and Seunghyun can hear his fingers flying against his panels as he calls Henry.  
  
“Fuck,” Jiyong mutters as soon as they’re through the door.  
  
“Hangeng next,” Seunghyun says, “And comm Hyunjoong along the way. I think we need to set up a trap.”  
  
—  
  
“Do you think they’ll figure out what we’re up to?” Boa asks, measuring an amount of serum into two syringes. She’s precise, even in her uncertainty and feels proud that she can keep her fingers steady.  
  
“I’m sure they will, but that’s why you’re working on a back up plan. Honestly, if they don’t think we’re going to try something, I’d be terribly insulted. They did put us in the same room, after all.”  
  
Boa tosses the trash away, wrapping the shots in a clothe carefully before sticking them inside her boot next to a file. “And what if they know we know and have planned a step ahead of that?”  
  
“We’ll figure something out,” Yunho assures her.  
  
She has a million other questions she wants to ask, but his hand on her shoulder stops the words and she immediately feels better. Even if it’s only for a little while, being on the same side has been the most exhilarating experience of her life. She tries not to think about all the things they could do together, were their romance and alliance to remain firm after this little debacle, but it’s hard. Be it raiding, ruling, or even marriage, it’s a difficult fantasy to banish from her mind.  
  
His kiss is demanding, and Boa loses track of time, only coming to her sense when she hears a clatter of a cart outside. Food, just as Hangeng had promised. Boa uses the comm viewer to look at the corridor, feeling a little thrill when she sees that it’s Hyunjoong rolling the trolley towards their door. “They definitely predicted our move,” she mutters. Good thing they’re prepared for this.  
  
She answers the door, smiling stiffly and pretending to be miffed. To his credit, Hyunjoong takes it all in stride, and even kisses her hand—just before Yunho whacks him hard over the head and knocks him unconscious.  
  
—  
  
“They got him.”  
  
Seunghyun whirls in his chair, and fights down an urge to rush into a rescue. They’re not going to kill him, and hopefully this will keep all hell from breaking loose.  
  
Jaejoong’s snarling from across the room (he had not liked the idea of Hyunjoong purposefully getting caught,) but he stays seated, fingers tapping irritably on his console.  
  
“You read them perfectly,” Hangeng marvels. “Good thing I got those ships up in the air when I did.”  
  
“We need to confront them before Kyuhyun can get into the  _Seersha_ ,” Jiyong says.  
  
“I’ve already grounded them,” Hangeng assures them, “No one is going anywhere.”  
  
“For now,” Jiyong growls, “But this is Yunho. Yunho and Boa and Heechul and while I trust you, they’re a bunch of devious little devils capable of anything.”  
  
Seunghyun checks the battery on his gun. “Let’s get them locked up before they can get away. The faster we quell this little problem the better.”  
  
And the safer they’ll all feel.  
  
They wait a few minutes until Boa emerges cautiously, Yunho behind her with Hyunjoong passed out and riding piggyback. Heechul slips out of his room a moment later and takes Hyunjoong from Yunho, spiriting him away and down a corridor.  
  
“Henry’s waiting for him with Donghae. You just worry about Yunho and Boa.” Hangeng had been the only one to stay behind and watch the cameras.  
  
They pause behind a few doors, Jaejoong dampening the Dust in their bodies, and Zhou Mi flaring their stamina so it doesn’t effect them. Hearing the careful footsteps coming down the corridor is maddening, and Seunghyun’s sure one of the leaders is going to hear his heart beating wildly, but they don’t, continuing cautiously until Jaejoong gives the signal.  
  
They both fight it, but neither of them are a match for Jaejoong, and Seunghyun has Boa pinned to the bulkhead within seconds, hand covering her mouth. “You’re so predictable,” he tells her, and she scowls at him. He slows her heartbeat and Jiyong her blood until she relaxes, lethargic, and he hauls her over his shoulder.  
  
Yunho looks thunderous, Jaejoong having neatly twisted his arms and shot him up with drugs. Not that it made Yunho safe; he’s lethal even without Dust, and handcuffed, but both Jaejoong and Zhou Mi are enough to ensure he doesn’t try anything.  
  
“What are you doing?” he growls at the Zhou Mi. Even in a wheelchair, he looks formidable, especially with Sungmin scowling behind him.  
  
“We can talk about that later,” Zhou Mi gives him a small smile, “Right now, we have to make sure no one gets hurt or does anything stupid. This was really senseless, Yunho.”  
  
“I don’t trust you,” Yunho says, even as Jaejoong tugs sharply on his arm and leads them back up the passageway and down towards the brig.  
  
“Nor I you,” Jaejoong responds, “Which is why we were prepared for this.”  
  
“None of us want this. We have your brain Duster and we’ll have your Dust. You aren’t strong enough to fight all of us.”  
  
“I have no intention of fighting any of you.”  
  
“You are grossly naive, Kim Jaejoong.”  
  
“And you have no imagination, Jung Yunho. Now sit tight. Someone will come and get you when we’re ready.”  
  
—  
  
“Changmin’s a fucking genius,” Boa says, as Yunho uses his teeth to tug out the file in Boa’s boot.  
  
“Brilliant,” Yunho agrees. “I should make him a Captain, though I don’t think Kyuhyun would like that much.”  
  
The file slides easy into her hand cuffs, once he’s positioned himself correctly, and in a moment, she has his undone as well, and is reaching back into her boot for the syringes loaded with serum and Dust to counteract the drugs.  
  
“What’s the probability of them having read our ruse?”  
  
“Probably good,” Yunho admits, sighing in relief as the needle slips into his skin and Dust starts to rush through his body, “But we out number them and they don’t have their brain Duster. At leas that’s what I hope.”  
  
“Heechul will take care of it.”  
  
They get to their feet after the last of the drug has burned away, and take stock of the brig, Yunho brandishing the file in his hand. “Now. How to get us out of here.”  
  
—  
  
It becomes apparent that they were fooled when a blast shakes the corridor and Jaejoong lands upside down, barely avoiding a position that would have snapped his neck.  
  
“Shit,” he yells, another blast nearing whacking his head into a wall, “Shit, shit, shit.”  
  
He finds his comm jammed, and so dashes down to the most logical place the blasts would be coming from: the area where they are keeping a sample of the Dust. But when he gets there, his nose wrinkles from the smell of blasted metal, and even though the smoke is still clearing, it only takes a glance to know the Dust is gone.  
  
He runs back the way he came, using a little Dust in his body to propel himself as fast as he can towards the hangar bay which is housing both Heechul and Yunho’s ships.  
  
He’s met with a wall of white, someone having clearly let the Dust out of the container, probably unintentionally as it’s very difficult to see. There is fighting within it, a good portion of the bodies focusing on two people Jaejoong recognizes as Yoochun and Seunghyun. They’re rather impressively holding their own and Jaejoong takes a moment to let some of the Dust sink into him before taking action.  
  
He freezes everyone in the room, including Yoochun and Seunghyun, though as soon as they stop struggling and realize it’s him, he releases them and they come to stand beside him, guns at the ready.  
  
But the Dust is the first thing Jaejoong manipulates, rather than their enemies, and thirty seconds later it’s shoved back into its container. The few people that are holding weapons in the room, drop them under Jaejoong silent command and Seunghyun and Yoochun pick them quickly, disarming them and scattering the useless pieces.  
  
“This is ridiculous and stupid,” Seunghyun tells them, “You’ve proven you can agree to do something together so why aren’t you willing to listen to what we have to say? I get that Kyuhyun and Heechul want to fight each other—that’s rather expected—but you two,” he points to Boa and Yunho, “I don’t get why you’re okay with this. I imagine it would be easier for the two of you to see one another if no one is fighting.”  
  
There’s an air of general surprise that washes over Jaejoong, and he turns everyone a bit, so that they can all get a look at Boa and Yunho, who are both blushing. Seunghyun, bless him, picks up easily on the atmosphere. “Oh,” he says, feigning a sense of regret, “I’m sorry, did you not tell anyone you’ve been  _fucking_?”  
  
Jaejoong can hear Yunho’s teeth grinding down. “Look at Yoochun,” Jaejoong commands, and every head in the room turns to him. He feels a flash of pride in his power and it’s very hard to keep the grin off of his face.  
  
“Let me make a few things clear,” Yoochun says, “Just so that we’re all on the same page. Taemin is currently hacking into the ships you have hidden in the asteroid field and in a moment, they’ll all be jumping away from here and back to your respective bases and will not be able to go anywhere else for a long while. That Dust,” Yoochun points to the container, “Is only a minute representation of the amount we actually have and the formula you stole out of Hangeng’s computer is not the right one. And Hyunjoong, who you’ve so viciously captured and drugged is not the brain Duster.” He smiles, jerking his head at Jaejoong. “Though I think you’re all smart enough to have figured that out by now. So in conclusion, you aren’t able to do anything at the moment but stand there and listen to me.”  
  
The hangar bay door beeps and Jiyong strolls through, Zhou Mi walking carefully behind him and leaning on Sungmin. Heechul hisses, and Jaejoong’s sure had he not been immobile, Heechul would have killed them both, right there.  
  
Jungmo looks as if he wants to die, but Sungmin gives him a smile. “Don’t worry. Zhou Mi’s helping my stamina. Turns out he’s a perfect match for me, who would have thought?” He turns to Heechul, “And just for the record, this does not count as betrayal. We’re all on the same side, Heechul, because we all want the same thing. If you’d listen you’d realize that.”  
  
“Mi,” Kyuhyun whispers, and Jaejoong lets him stumble over to Zhou Mi, wrapping arms around his middle and sag against him in relief. “ _Zhou Mi_.”  
  
“Why doesn’t everyone sit?” Seunghyun asks. “Maybe we’ll just talk right here.”  
  
Jaejoong lets them have enough control to collapse where they are and arrange their limbs comfortably. He even lets Yunho take Boa’s hand in his own, grinning at both of them. They’re the key in this, he knows, those two as well as Zhou Mi and Sungmin. Two couples that have proven it’s possible to be on separate sides and yet get along  _famously_.  
  
“Why don’t I start?” Zhou Mi proposes. “This all begins with me anyhow.”  
  
They seem to listen attentively. As Zhou Mi tells them of the project on the moon, and the Dust soldiers he had worked to create, Jaejoong slowly releases his control over the bodies in the room. By the time Jiyong takes over and they get to the discovery of the substance on Jaejoong’s ship, everyone is sitting of their own will.  
  
“So the reason you didn’t want to be rescued,” Kyuhyun clarifies, eyebrow raised at Zhou Mi, even with their hands clasped tightly.  
  
“I wanted Jaejoong,” Zhou Mi admits. “I intended to take him and Hyunjoong off the  _Ikati_  with me, but then I realized Jaejoong was the brain Duster, and then Seungri attacked,” he nodded in the spy’s direction, “And then Jaejoong left before I was well enough to get out of bed. And then he called and I realized I had to be on his side.”  
  
“Which is what?” Kyuhyun asks.  
  
The tension rises a bit, as people grow sulky, but using what he had learned from watching Daesung, Jaejoong makes their moodiness go away.  
  
“I just want this Dust to go out to the people that need it. I think we all want that.”  
  
“What do you think we’ve been trying to do?” Kyuhyun snarls.  
  
“I’m not here to force everyone to work the same way,” Jaejoong retorts, “That’s not my intent. Hangeng, the map.”  
  
Hangeng and Yoochun set up a hologram projector in the middle of the room. Everyone is silent as Hangeng programs it carefully, inserting a data chip into a port. The Dust from the viewer shimmers as it spirals up into the middle of the room, forming a holographic map of the galaxy. “The red is the area belonging to Scientists.”  
  
“Technically,” Kyuhyun begins, a growl in his throat. Jaejoong can guess where this very territorial dispute is going.  
  
“Now is not the time,” Jaejoong interrupts. “And ‘technically’ is not what this meeting is about. You keep your mouth shut.”  
  
“The red,” Seunghyun takes over with a slight frown, “Is where the Scientists definitively distribute Dust. Is that better?”  
  
Kyuhyun nods.  
  
“The blue is Heechul and Boa. Which of course means the purple is places that both parties have territory, as compiled by Zhou Mi and Jiyong. Obviously this is only a rough idea,” Seunghyun eyes Kyuhyun a little distastefully, “But that’s all we need at the moment.”  
  
It’s a map mottled with color, Earth obviously a staunch red, along with the more prominent planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,) and their surrounding space stations. Blue is scattered in between, hugging the moons and Asteroid Field, mostly. Jaejoong can almost see Kyuhyun taking mental notes in his head.  
  
But there is another color. “The yellow is neutral zones. Parties like Hangeng or the Pirates near Uranus that take Dust from anyone that will give it to them—or steal it from anyone.” Hangeng not so much as the Pirates, but Seunghyun’s clearly not harping on details. They don’t have time for that.  
  
“The point of this,” Seunghyun taps his fingers against his holstered gun, “Is that between us we have the entire system covered, at least as far as we know. What we don’t, we can discuss at a later time, but for the most part, we have our hands in at least ninety five percent of the system population. Which means that if the two groups can come up with a tentative territory agreement, we can get Dust to people who need it a lot more efficiently.”  
  
“And if we can’t agree?“ Kyuhyun asks.  
  
“Sorry,” Jaejoong says, and he tries really hard not to make it a sneer, “Maybe I wasn’t clear. If there’s no agreement, then no one gets to learn how to make Dust. And if you want it, then you’ll have to buy it. At an exorbitant price.”  
  
“So you’re talking about two governments?” Yunho sounds extremely displeased.  
  
“No. I have no interest in ruling anything, nor does Heechul.”  
  
Heechul nods at Jaejoong’s raised eyebrow. “Yunho, no one has ever wanted that. This has always been about business, about making a living in whatever way they want. The people that live in these areas trust whomever brings them Dust.”  
  
“So then what is the point of this?”  
  
Jaejoong allows a moment of poignant silence. “All we’re asking,” He finally says, nodding at Zhou Mi, because the Dust is as much his as it is Jaejoong’s, “Is that you agree to keep giving out Dust to the places you currently are and not fight over territory anymore. If you can come up with definite lines of territory,  _only in terms of business_ , then I will distribute this Dust to all of you for you to use in however you’d like.”  
  
“And the list of components for this Dust?” Boa asks.  
  
“I will keep it to myself until I’m sure everyone really will work together,” Zhou Mi answers.  
  
“But what’s to stop us from analyzing it ourselves?”  
  
“Nothing,” Hangeng shrugs, smiling a little secretively, “But I’ve been trying to figure it out for years and didn’t have any success.”  
  
“If you figure it out then you can make it,” Zhou Mi continues, “Fair is fair. But for now, this is the best way to do things.”  
  
“And this territory laid out here,” Kyuhyun waves a hand at the map, “This is the end all be all, is that it?”  
  
“This isn’t about territory,” Zhou Mi says, “Kyuhyun, they don’t want a system to rule, they want a business.  _I_  want a business. A way of life. The Scientists remain in control. It’s a good government, and if you’re not fighting a war and spreading your resources so thin, it’ll be an even better one.”  
  
“You’re already talking like you don’t belong to it.”  
  
“I’ve never belonged to it, Kyuhyun. I was born 500 years ago.”  
  
“You’ve belonged to it every since I found you.”  
  
“He makes a valid point,” Yunho says. His hand is still clasped to Boa’s. “Hangeng, you’ve always been neutral and have never considered yourself a Scientist. Is that going to change?”  
  
“No,” Hangeng says, “At least not right away. I think having a neutral party invested only in making Dust and distributing it will help to keep the peace.”  
  
“And the other neutral parties? You did mention the Pirates earlier.”  
  
“I will speak with them as well,” Hangeng assures him. “We’ll work something out.”  
  
“We need to think about this.”  
  
“You can leave first. Seunghyun will escort you back to your rooms.”  
  
Jaejoong takes Heechul and Boa once the Scientists have left, Geunsuk following behind. “So you were fucking Yunho,” Heechul comments drily.  
  
“We’ve been going out since before he ran for office. We had a mutual agreement.”  
  
“I kind of hate you right now.”  
  
Jaejoong can’t hide his smile as Heechul lets Boa lean against him, even as he ridicules her, and he’s quite sure everything will work out alright. “Comm Hangeng when you’ve made your decision,” he tells Heechul, when they’ve reached his cabin.  
  
“We’d be stupid to disagree, you know that.”  
  
Jaejoong does. “Then comm him when you’ve come up with a list of terms you’d like included in the treaty.”  
  
“Can I add in a clause about Boa not being allowed to date Yunho?”  
  
“ _Hey_.”  
  
Jaejoong only laughs, leaving them to their friendly bickering. Walking away, his heart feels a million times lighter.  
  
—  
  
Kyuhyun feels a little like a child whose favorite stuffed toy had been dismembered in front of him and then told he would never see it again. Christmas is never going to come again. Rain will forever plague his imagination. He is quite angry.  
  
“It’s not that bad,” Changmin says. Even his pale expanses of skin glowing with the new Dust do nothing to make Kyuhyun happy.  
  
“I’ve never done anything but fight. I have never wanted anything but to beat the Runners since I was in school. And now I don’t have to fight them, but it isn’t because I won. It feels a lot like we just  _surrendered_.”  
  
“But we didn’t.” Changmin shifts onto his side, head flopped on his arm, and traces lines across Kyuhyun’s chest. “We keep our territory, our leader, our ships, and we get Dust. And we don’t have to kill anyone.”  
  
“But that’s all I know. Changmin, all I know is fighting, is living on a battleship.”  
  
“Just because you’re not fighting Runners doesn’t mean we won’t have people to fight. You haven’t lost your captaincy or anything.”  
  
“It feels like it,” Kyuhyun grumbles. The corner of his pout is kissed. “Don’t placate me.”  
  
“Why not? Placating you is nice. Besides, we do get a few stipulations in this treaty. Maybe we can convince Yunho to add in that we get to tag along with Hangeng in our fancy spaceship and kick some Pirate ass. Or maybe we can just go alone.”  
  
Really, it’s these things that Kyuhyun loves about Changmin. Like seriously, Kyuhyun wishes they could have children, because between their genes, their child could probably just rule the universe or something. Be doubly fantastic. Fucking kick ass. Yeah, that’s the one.  
  
“I like that idea,” he says, arms winding around Changmin, smiling as their legs slide against each other. “But you said  _our_  ship.”  
  
“Well, I guess I can stick around for awhile longer. Yunho won’t need new captains yet. Maybe eventually, but not just yet. Don’t want to be jobless, or anything.”  
  
“God forbid,” Kyuhyun rolls his eyes. “Like you wouldn’t be able to find work. Maybe after Yunho’s term you can run for office. You’d make a  _spectacular_  leader of the system, Shim Changmin.”  
  
“Can we just shut up and—“  
  
“Yeah, okay.”  
  
—  
  
“Hey.”  
  
Yunho’s a little stunned when Boa turns around. The light catches her hair just so and his breath catches in his throat and he wonders if she’ll catch  _him_ , because he’s falling. Falling so fast. “I really love you,” he starts.  
  
She grins, flicks her hair casually; he has to bend to press their foreheads together, hands tight to her body.  
  
“Not now, because it’s crazy. But later. Marry me.”  
  
She blinks.  
  
“Please,” he whispers. “Maybe. Maybe once my term is over. Let’s get married. And have children. And just be—married. No drama.”  
  
Another blink and then a not-so-casual flick of her hair; he feels her take a breath. “Will you buy me a ring? Because that’s very important.”  
  
This time the grin is his.  
  
—  
  
Yoochun’s helping Yoobin brush the hair on her doll when Jaejoong strolls into his cabin. She grins when she sees him, waving a pudgy hand in the air dramatically. “Daddy can’t do this right!”  
  
“I’m hopeless,” Yoochun says, letting Jaejoong take his spot.  
  
“He gets it  _tangly_ ,” Yoobin frowns.  
  
“Well, that’s no good.”  
  
It’s not really that bad, and Jaejoong rather suspects Yoobin is the one that got the hair all tangled up, but he works at it anyway. He can’t hep the grin as Yoochun rolls his eyes when his daughter can’t see. “Where’s Seunghyun?”  
  
“Went to fetch a bottle of champagne with Jiyong.”  
  
“It’s a little bit early for celebration.”  
  
“It’s a  _pre_ -celebration,” Seunghyun’s voice says from the doorway, “And it’s never too early for alcohol.”  
  
“Somehow, I knew you’d say that.”  
  
Hyunjoong follows Jiyong inside, and he’s limping a little, though the grin on his face makes up for it. “Heard you were a regular hero,” he says, plopping down on the couch beside Jaejoong.  
  
“Or something like it,” Jaejoong shrugs, “You were much braver than me.”  
  
Hyunjoong chuckles, reaching for the flutes Seunghyun hands him and passing one to Jaejoong. He gives the doll back to Yoobin, who coos, climbing onto Yoochun’s lap, irritation completely forgotten, and allows herself to be cuddled.  
  
“I’ve got a great story to tell,” Hyunjoong shrugs, “I survived an all out attack by Jung Yunho! The grandkids will love it.”  
  
Seunghyun snorts. “Sorry, but you with kids?”  
  
“Kids love me,” Hyunjoong frowns, “Right, Yoobin? Aren’t I your favorite?”  
  
“Daddy is my favorite,” Yoobin frowns at him.  
  
“But then after Daddy is me, right?”  
  
“Jaejoong,” Yoobin points.  
  
Yoochun laughs outright.  
  
“I don’t think you should ask her who comes after me,” Jaejoong grins, “She’ll say Daesung.”  
  
“Daesung!” Yoobin shrieks, and Yoochun pretends to toss a pillow at Hyunjoong when he mouths a swear word.  
  
“I think it’ll go well,” Jiyong says, settling back in his chair, the leather whooshing softly against his clothing, “Yunho understanding that he’ll remain in charge was an important point.”  
  
“Well, who would want Heechul in charge?” Seunghyun asks.  
  
“Not even Heechul would want himself in charge,” Hyunjoong says, downing his champagne and pouring himself more. “It’ll take awhile, but they’ll come up with something.”  
  
“I think so,” Jaejoong nods.  
  
“And if not than we can keep the Dust all to ourselves. Kidding,” Jiyong adds, as Yoochun pulls a face. “That was obviously a joke.”  
  
Seunghyun stops his hand as Jiyong reaches for the bottle, “We haven’t even had a proper toast.”  
  
“So let’s toast then,” Hyunjoong grins. “To us.”  
  
“TO ME,” Yoobin shrieks, the doll nearly flying out of her hands.  
  
There’s an appropriate pause before Yoochun smiles, raising his glass, his eyes suspiciously misty. “To you,” he says, “And everything you’ll now be able to have.”  
  
“Sap,” Jaejoong accuses.  
  
“I knew this was going to be great,” Hyunjoong continues, his arm flopping to the back of the couch around Jaejoong’s shoulder. “I’ve always wanted to say this: I told you so.”  
  
Jaejoong gives him a look.  
  
“When we found you. Remember? We said not to worry because you’re safe with us!”  
  
“You’re a bastard,” Jaejoong says under his breath, chugging the last of his champagne.  
  
“I saved your life! What part of that says  _bastard_?”  
  
“BASTARD!” Yoobin screeches, and this time Yoochun really does throw a pillow into Hyunjoong’s face.  
  
Jaejoong laughs, but uses the chaos to wipe a few tears out of his eyes.  _Safe_ , he thinks, and knows with absolute certainty that he is.

  
  
  
♥

 

  
  
  
[This](http://safiew.tumblr.com/post/28798492409) is a beautiful edit someone did for the series. And [this](http://www.mediafire.com/view/?lzlsmtls93ax19t) is a spreadsheet I made of all the characters. It includes information I never got around to including or things I was goign to write but couldn't find the right place for it. If you're curious about the universe and characters and relaitonships, check it out.

 

 

 


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